Front matter (continued, part 10)
" to acquaint myself with thee, then shall I decree a t " shall be established," Job xxii. 28.
XN all the gifts of God we should advance His glorious name ; not say, it came by chance. Or to the idol of our prudence pay The tribute of our praise, and go our way. The waves do clap their hands, and in their kind Acknowledge God ; and what ! are they more bli That float upon them ? Yea, for w hat they get They offer sacrifices to their net. This is your manner, thus to work you go : Confess the naked truth ; is't not so ? This net was wisely cast, 'tis full, 'tis full : O well done mates, this is a gallant pull.
NAVIGATION' SPIRITUAI.IZI.I'. ri
CHAP. XXII.
IVhlht thou by art the silly ^fish doth kill. Perchance the deviPs ItooTc sticks in thy gill.
OBSERVATIOX.
J. HERE is skill in fishing ; they that go to sea in a fishbg royaj use to go provided with their craft (as they very fitly call it) wi out which they can do notlung. They have their lines, hooks several sizes, and their bait. They carefully observe their seasor
when the fish fall in, then they ply their business day and night
APPLICATIOX. But how much more skilful and industrious is Satan to ensnares
destroy souls ? The devil makes a voyage as well as you ; he h; his baits for vou, as you have for the fish : He hath his devices s wiles to catch souls, 2 Cor. ii. 11. Eph. vi. 11. He is a serpent, old serpent, Rev. xii. 9. Too crafty for man in his perfection, mi more in his collapsed and degenerated state, his understanding be cracked by the fall, and all his faculties poisoned and perverted.
Divines observe four steps, or degrees of Satan's tempting pow First, He can find out the constitution-evils of men ; he kn( to what sin their natures are more especially prone, and inclinal:
Secondly, He can propound suitable objects to those lusts, he
exactly and fully hit everv^ man's humour : as Agrlppa mixed poison in that meat her husband loved best.
Thirdly, He can inject and cast motions into the mind, to c: with those tempting objects; as it is said of Judas, John xiii.
" The devil put it into his heart."
Fourthly, He can solicit, irritate, and provoke the heart, and those continual restless solicitations weary it : and hereby he oi draws men to commit such things as startled them in the first mot
All this he can do, if he finds the work sticks, and meets with r and difficulties ; yet doth he not act to the utmost of his skill power, at all times, and with all persons ; neither indeed need hi so ; the very propounding of an object is enough to some, witl any further solicitation ; the devil makes an easy conquest of tl
And, beside all this, his policv much appears in the electio place, time, and instruments to tempt by : And thus are poor s caught, " as fishes in an evil net,'" Eccl. ix. 12. The carnal ms led by sense, as the beast ; and Satan handles and fits him ace
270 A KEW COMPASS FOR SEAMEN; OR,
the fatal hook in their jaws, and thus they are led ce at his will.
REFLECTION. And is Satan so subtil and industrious to entice souli
he thus cast out his golden baits, and allure souls with pi ruin ? Then how doth it behove thee, O my soul, to b wary ! how strict a guard should I set upon every sense not so much regard how sin comes towards me in the t
how it goes off' at last. The day in which Sodom was c gan with a pleasant sun-shine, but ended in fire and may promise myself much content in the satisfaction But O how certainly will it end in my ruin ? Ahab doubi himself much content in the vineyard of Naboth, but 1
for it in the portion of Jezreel. The harlot's bed was entice the simple youngman, Prov. vii. 17. But those cl light proved the chambers of death, and her house thi Ah ! with what a smiling face doth sin come on towj temptations ? how doth it tickle the carnal fancy, and
ceived heart .'' But what a dreadful catastrophe and uj The delight is quickly gone ; but the guilt thereof ren and terrify the soul with ghastly forms, and dreadful r< of the wrath of God. As sin hath its delights attendi and fasten it, so it hath its horrors and stings to tormen
And as certainly as I see those go before it to make a wa; shall I find these follow after, and tread upon its heels is the conscience awakened, but all those delights vani vision, or as a dream when one awakes ; and then I sh£ the hook, but where is the bait ? Here is the guilt an where the delight that I was promised ? And I, whithi go ? Ah, my deceitful lusts ! you have enticed and 1 midst of all miseries.
here's skill in fishing, that the devil know For when for souls Satan a fishing goes, He angles cunningly ; he knows he must Exactly fit the bait unto the lust. He studies constitution, place and time. He guesses what is his delight, what thine : And so accordingly prepares the bait. Whilst he himself lies closely hid, to wait When thou wilt nibble at it. Dost incline
XAVIGATION SPIRITUALIZED.
O think on this ! when you cast in the hook, Say, Thus for my poor soul doth Satan look. O play not with temptations, do not swallow The sugared bait, consider what will follow. If once he hitcl\ thee, then away he draws
Thv captive soul close prisoner in his paws.
CHAP. XXIII.
Doth trading Jail^ and voyages prove bad ; If you cannot discern the caicse, Yis sad.
JL HERE are many sad complaints abroad (and, I think not wi out cause) that trade fails, nothing turns to account And thoi
all countries are open and free for traffic, a general peace with all tions, yet there seems to be a dearth, a secret curse upon trading. It run from country to countrv, and come losers home. Men can har render a reason of it; few hit the right cause of this judgment.
That prosperity and success in trade are from the blessing of G I suppose few are so atheistical, as once to deny or question,
devil himself acknowledges it. Job i. 10. " Thou hast blessed
*' work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.' is not in the power of any man to get riches, Deut. viii. 18. " T *' shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth t " power to get wealth." It is his blessing that makes good men r and his permission that makes wicked men rich. That maxim cj from hell, Quisq^ie Jbrtuuce sucefaber : Every man is the contr
of his own condition. Certainly, '* The good of man is not in
" own hand," Job xxi. 16. " Promotion cometh not from the " nor the west," Psal. lxx\a. 6, 7.
This being acknowledged, it is evident that in all disappointme and want of success in our callings, we ought not to stick in sec causes, but to look higher, even to the hand and disposal of G For whose it is to give the blessing, his also it is to with-hok And this is as clear in scripture as the other ; It is ihe Lord
takes away the fishes of the sea, Hos. iv. 3. Zeph. i, 3. *• It is " that curseth our blessings," Mai, ii. 3.
©•7f> ^i% -A >JEW COMPASS FOR SEAMEN ; OH,
sins among many others, that provoke the Lord to employments.
1. Our undertaking designs without prayer. Alas us begin with God ! interest him in our dealings, an and direction at his mouth. Prayer is that which san
ployments and enjoyments, 1 Tim. iv. 5. The very say, A Jove principium. They must begin with God had more prayers, and fewer oaths !
2. Injustice and fraud in our dealings. A sin to wh are prone, as appears by that expression, Hos. xii. 7.
"which will blast all your enjoyments. 3. An over-earnest endeavour after the world. IV
their business, they will be rich : and hence it is, the] unmerciful to themselves, in wearying and wasting tht with carking cares, but to such also as they employ ; n ing the souls or bodies of men : scarce affording them
the Lord's day, (as has been too common in our Newf ployments,) or if they have it, yet they are so worn out labours, that that precious time is spent either in slec It is no wonder God gives you more rest than you won that day of rest hath been no better improved. Th hath not been the least cause of our undoing.
Lastly, Our abuse of prosperity, when God gave it, mercies the food and fuel of our lusts. When we had
confluence of outward blessings, " this made us kick i as, Deut. xxxiii. 15. " forget GocI,''Dout. iv. 14. yea, [ our strength and riches, Ezek. xvi. Vd. and Jer. ii. 31. . of us in the days of our prosperity, behaved ourselve hoshaphat did ? 2 Chron. xvii. 5, 6. " He had silver i
*' bundance, and his heart was lifted up in the way o " mandments ;" not in pride and insolence. BEFLECTIOX. Are these the sins that blast our blessings, and wither O then let me cease to wonder it is no better, and rathe
it is no worse with me ; that my neglect of prj'.yer, inji ings, earthly-mindedness, and abuse of former mercies voked God to strip me naked of all my enjoyments. Li accept from the Lord the punishment of my iniquities hand upon my mouth. And O that these disappoint
convince me of the creature's vanity, and cause me to ther trade for heaven ; then shall I adore thy wisdo
JJAVIGATIOX SPIRITUALIZED.
<• A little that a righteous man hath, is better than the riche
*^ many wicked,"" Psal. xxxvii. 16. THE POEM.
X here's great complaint abroad that trading's bad. You shake your head, and cry, 'Tis sad, 'tis sad. Merchants lay out their stock, seamen their pains.
And in their 'eye they both may keep their giuns. Your fishing fails, you wonder why 'tis so, 'Tis this (saith one) or that ; but I say — no, ''Twill ne'er be well till you confess and say, It is our sin that frights the fish away. No wonder all goes into bags with holes. Since so the gospel hath been in your souls. We kick'd like Jeshurun, when the flowing tide Of wealth came tumbling in, this nourish'd pride. *Twixt soul and body, now I wish it may Fare, as betwixt the Jews and us tliis day O that our outward want and loss may be To us a soul-enriching poverty !
If disappointments here advance the trade For heaven, then complain not ; you have made The richest voyage, and your empty ships Return deep laden with soul-benefits.
CHAP. XXIV.
In seas the greater Jish the less devour :
So some men crush all those zcithin their power.
T OBSERVATION'.
HERE are fishes of prey in the sea, as well as birds and beas prey on the land. Our seamen tell us, how the devouring wh sharks, dolphins, and other fishes, follow the caplein, and o smaller fish, and devour multitudes of them. It is frequent us in our own seas to find several smaller fish in the bellies of
greater ones ; yea, I have often heard seamen say, that the poor ]
fry, when pursued are so sensible of the danger, that they 1 sometimes seen multitudes of them cast themselves upon the si and perish there to avoid the danger of being devoured by the
APl'LICATION.
Thus cruel, mercUess, and oppressive are wicked men, whose **
A N6W COMPASS FOU SEAMEN ; OR,
geance, Exod. xxii. 23. " If thou afflict the widtnv and
" less, and they cry unto me, I will surely hear their cry/ 27. " I will hear his crj', for I am gracious. Nay, G only hear their cry, but avenge their quarrel. That is a text, 1 Thes. iv. 6. " That no man go beyond and defr *' ther in any matter, because that the Lord is the [ave
*' such." This word * avenger^ is but once more used Testament^ Rom. xiii. 4. and there it is applied to the irate, who is to see execution done upon offenders. Bu
a sin that sometimes may be out of the reach of man's therefore God himself will be their avenger. You may the poor in this world, and it may be they cannot conte
at man's bar, therefore God will bring you before his t Believe it, sirs, it is a sin so provoking to God, that h
it escape without sevei'e punishment, sooner or later. 1 Habakkuk, chap. i. ver. 13. wondered how the holy Go bear such till the general day of reckoning, and that he exemplary vengeante on them in this life. " Thou j
" eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look upon iniqu *' fore then lookest thou upon them that deal treache " boldest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the
*' more righteous than he.'^" And Prov. xxiii. 10, 11. " into the fields of the fatherless," i. e. of the poor z But why is it moi'e dangerous violently to invade their another's .'' The reason is added, " for their Rcdeemej
*' and he shall plead their cause with thee." It may not able to retain a counsel to plead their cause hen God will plead their cause for them.
REFLECTION. Turn in upon thyself (O ray soul) and consider, hast tl guilty of this crying sin ! Have 1 not (when a servant) c
and defrauded others, and filled my master's house with deceit.'' and so brought myself under that dreadful threat( i. 9. Or since I came to trade and deal upon mine own ai not the balances of deceit been in my hand ? I have (it n many in my service and employment ; have not I used t without reward, and so am under that woe.'* Jer. xxii. given them wages proportionable to their work ? Isa. h bad payment and unjust deductions and allowances, deft of a part o( their due ? Mai. iii. 5. or at least delayed p of a covetous disposition to gain by it ; whilst their nece
XAVICATIOM SPiniTUALl2ED.
scraiiist them, breaking their estates? O my soul, examine thy upon these particulars : rest not quiet until this guilt be removed the application of the blood of sprinkling. Hath not the Lord & Jam, ii. 13. " That they shall have judgment without mercy, t ** have shewed no mercy.'' And is it not a fearful thing to fall i ** the hands of the living God, who hath said, He will take \
** geance for these things ?^ THE POEM.
J_^EVOURING whales, and rav'nous sharks do follow The lesser fry, at one gulp to swallow Some hundreds of them, as our seamen say : But we can tell far stranger things than they. For we have sharks ashore on every creek, That to devour poor men do hunt and seek. No pity, sense, or bowels in them be.
Nay, have they not put ofi* humanity .' Extortioners and cheaters, whom God hates Have dreadful open mouths, and through those gates Brave persons with their heritages pass In fun ral state, friends crying out, alas !
0 give me Agur's wish, that I may never Be such myself, nor feel the hands of either.
And as for those that in their paw''s are grip'd. Pity and rescue. Lord, from that sad plight.
When I behold the squeaking lark, that^'s borne In faulcon's talons, crying, bleeding, torn ; 1 pity its sad case, and would relieve The prisoner, if I could, as well as grieve. Fountain of pity ! hear the piteous moans Of all thy captive and oppressed ones.
CHAP. XXV.
In storms to spread much sail endangers all :
So carnal mirth, ifGodJbr tnournhig call.
OBSEIiVATIOX,
JLN stonns at sea, the wise navigator will not spread mucli sa that is the way to lose masts and all. They use then to finl the sails, and lie a hull, when not able to bear a knot of sail, or e
876 A NEW COMPASS Foil SEAMEN ; OR,
It contemneth the rod of liiy son as every tree." i. e. A common rod and ordinary affliction : whereas the rod of i such as may be had of every tree ; but it is an iron rod to pise it, Psal. ii. 9O it is a provoking evil, and comnn verely punishes it. Of all persons such speed worst in
calamity. Amos vi. 1. " Woe to them that are at ease i
' are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph," as ver. 6. (as one observes upon the text) they did not laugh at 1 jests upon him ; but they did not condole with him. Ar
be their punishment ? see ver. 7. " Therefore now shall
" tive with the.first that go captive :" God will begin wi Solomon tells us, Eccles. iii. 4. " There is a time to
" time to laugh ; a time to mourn, and a time to dance : * M. Trap notes upon the text) we must not invert tl
* weep with men, that we may laugh with angels.' To 1 frolic in a day of tribulation, is to disturb the order of s(
is a terrible text, Isa. xxii. 12. which should make the h
as are guilty in this kind to tremble : " In that day die *' hosts call to mourning, and to girding with sackcloth
*' joy and gladness, slaying oxen, killing sheep, drinkir Well, what is the issue of this ? " Surely, this iniquity
** purged from you till ye die." O dreadful word ! sui thren) sympathy isa debt we owe to Christ mystical. \ constitution, condition, or personal immunities be, yet wl for mourning, we must hear and obey that call. Davie an expert musician, a man of a sanguine and cheerful yet who more sensible of the evil of those times than hi water ran down his eyes at the consideration of them, was so affected with the miseries of the church in his \ seemed to take little or no notice of the death of his chi
entirely loved. At such a time we may " say of laugh
" mad, and of mirth, what doth it !" IIEFLECTIOX.
Blush then, O my soul ! for thy levity and insenj
God's angry dispensations. How many of the precic daughters of Zion, lie in tears abroad, while I have been
*' my heart as in a day of slaughter ? The voice of G< *' to the city, and men of understanding have heai Micah vi. 9But I have been deaf to that cry. How k have I been to urge my sensual heart to acts of sorrov ing ! Thou hast bid me weei) with them that weep.
XAVIGATION SPiaiTUALlXED.
cliildren weeping and trembling ? Then I may justly fear, i
«• when they shall sing for joy of heart, I shall howl for vexation
" spirit," Isa. Ixv. 13, 14. Surely, O my soul ! such laughter ^ be turned into mourning; either here or hereafter.
xN troublous times, mirth in the sinners face Is like a mourning-cloak with silver lace. The lion's roaring make the beasts to quake : God's roaring judgments cannot make us shake. What belluine contempt is this of God,
To laugh in's face when he takes up the rod .•* Such laughter God in tears will surely drown,
(Unless he hate thee) e'er he lay it down. These rods have voices, if thou hear them well ;
If not, another rod's prepard in hell ; And when the arm of God shall lay it on, Laugh if thou canst ; no, then thy mirth is gone.
All Zion's children will lament and cry, When all her beauteous stones in dust do lie ? And he that for her then laments and mourns,
Shall want no joy, when God to her returns.
CHAP. XXVI.
A little leak neglected, dangerous proves :
One sin connived at, the soul undoes. f|^ OBSEUVATIOK.
X HE smallest leak, if not timely discovered and stopt, is enoi to sink a ship of the greatest burden : Therefore seamen are w frequently to trv what water is in the hold ; and if they find it fr< and increasing upon them, they ply the pump, and presently set carpenters to search for it and stop it; and till it be found t cannot be quiet. Is APPLICATIOX.
K What such a leak is to a ship, that is the smallest sin neglecte<
I the soul ; it is enough to ruin it eternally. For as the greatest sin i
covered, lamented, and mourned over by a believer, cannot ruin hi sotheleastsin indulged, covered, and connived at, will certainly pr the destruction of the sinner. No siu, though never so small, is leratpd bv fhp rwirp !\ni\ nprfppt Iniv oF Gnrl. P'^'ilm cviv. Ofi. 1
278 A NEW COMPASS FOIl SEAMEN ; OR,
very nature of sincerity and uprightness, to set the h
[every] way of wickedness, Psal. cxxxix. 23, 24. Job x especially against that sin which was its darling in the vanity, Psal. xviii. 23. True hatred (as the philosoph is of the * whole kind : He that hates sin as sin, and s< upright soul, hates all sins as well as some.
Again, the soul that hath had a saving sight of Jesus a true discovery of the evil of sin, in the glass both of gospel, can account no sm small. He knows the dei
smallest sin is God's eternal wrath, and that not the lea remitted without the shedding and application of the bla
Heb. ix. 22. which blood is of infinite value and price, '
To conclude, God's people know, that little as w sins, are dangerous, deadly, and destructive in their ow little poison will destroy a man. Adrian was choaked Caesar stabbed Avith bodkins. A man would think Adi
been no great matter, yet what dreadful work did it m; not as a single bullet to kill himself only ; but as a chair cut oif all his poor, miserable posterity. Indeed, no sin because its object against whom it is committed is so gre
receives a kind of infiniteness in itself; and because the redeem us from it is so invaluable.
REFLECTION.
And is the smallest sin not only damning in its own will certainly prove the ruin of that soul that hides and ( then let my spirit accomplish a diligent search. Look soul ! that no sin be indulged by thee ; set these conside many flaming swords in the way of thy carnal delights an* me never say of any sin as Lot did of Zoar, " It is a litt
*' it.'" Shall I spare that which cost the blood of Jesus C Lord would not spare him, " When he made his soul an sin," Rom. viii. 32. Neither will he spare me, if I hide it, Deut. xxix. 20. Ah ! if my heart were right, versation sound, that lust, whatever it be, that is so i me, would especially be abhorred and hated, Isa. ii. J 22. Whatever my convictions and reformations have there be but one sin retained and delighted in, thi devifs interest in my soul. And though for a time he part, yet at last he will return with seven worse spirits the sin that will open the door to him, and deliver
XAVIGATION SFIRITl ALIZED.
lose all for want of one thing? Lord, let me shed the blood o dearest lust for his sake that shed his dearest blood for me \
X here's many a souPs eternally undone For sparing sin, because a little one. But vre are much deceiv'd ; no sin is small, That wounds so great a God, so dear a soul. Yet sav it were, the smallest pen-knife may As well as sword or lance, dispatch and slay, And shall so small a matter part and sever
Christ and thy soul .'' What I make you part for ever ? Or wilt thou stand on toys with him, when he
Denv'd himself in greatest things for thee ? Or will it be an ease in hell to think
How easily thy soul therein did sink.'' Are Christ and hell for trifles sold and bought ? Strike souls with trembling, Lord, at such a thought !
By little sins belov"'d, the soul is lost, Uiiless such sins do great repentance cost.
CHAP. XXVII.
Sftips make much zcai/ ivhen they a trade-zcind get
Jl^ith such a zciiid the saints have ever met
OBSERVATIOX.
HOUGH in most parts of the world the winds are variable, sometimes blow from every part of the compass, by reason whe saiUng is slow and dangerous ; yet about the Equinoctial, sea meet with a trade-wind blowing, for the most part one way ; there they sail jocund before it, and scarce need to lower a to] for some hundreds of leagues.
APPLICATIOX. Although the people of God meet with many seeming rubs set-backs in their way to heaven, which are like contrary' wind a sliip ; yet they are from the dav of their conversion to the da
their complete salvation, never out of a tradewind's way to hea Rom. viii. 21 . " We know that all things work together for goo *' them that love God. to them that arp railed aernrdinQto his 1
280 A NEW COMPASS FOR SEAMEN ; OR,
velation, God has told us so ; and partly by our own ex] find it so.
(That all things) Not only things that lie in a natural tendency to our good ; as ordinances, promises, blessing even such things as have no natural fitness and tendency end ; as afflictions, temptations, corruptions, desertions, & help onward. They
(Work together) Not all of them directly, and of th( ture and inclination ; but by being over-ruled and det such an issue by the gracious hand of God : nor yet do out such goods to the saints singly and apart, but as adju or helps, standing under, and working in subordination
preme and principal cause of their happiness.
Now, the most seeming opposite things, yea, sin initsel its own nature is really opposite to their good, yet eventu botes to it. Afflictions and desertions seem to work agai being once put into the rank and order of causes, they woi with such blessed instruments, as word and praver to an h And though the faces of these things that so agree and ther, look contrary ways ; yet there are, as it were, secret connexions of providence betwixt them, to unite them in
There may be many instruments employed about one wo not communicate counsels, or hold intelligence with each
seph's brethren, the Midianites, Potiphar, &c. knew not oi mind, nor aimed at one end, (much less the end that G( about by them) one acts out of revenge, another for g£ out of policy ; yet all meet together at last, in that issu
designed to bring about by them, even Joseph's advances so it is here. Christian, there are more instruments at woi eternal good than thou art aware of.
REFLECTION.
Cheer up then, O my soul, and lean upon this pillar of all distresses. Here is a promise for me, if I am a called
like the philosopher's stone, turns all into gold it toucl: promise is my security ; however things go in the wor]
" will do me no hurt," Jer. xxv. 6. Nay, he will do i every dispensation. " O that I had but an heart to mal
*' work for his glory, that thus causeth every thing to \^
*' good." My God, dost thou turn every thing to my O let me return all to thy praise; and if by every thing my eternal good, then let me in every thing give thank
XAVIGATIOX SPIRITUALIZED. J
are within the line of this promise ? All things friendly and ben
cialtothem; friends helpful; eneraieshelpful; eventhing conspiri and conducing to their happiness. With others it is not so ; thing works for their good ; nay, every thing works against their very mercies are snares, and their prosperity destroys the Prov. i. 32. even the blessed gospel itself is a savour of death
them : when evil befals them, " it is an only evil," Ezek. vii. 5. t is, not turned into good to them ; and as their evils are not tur into good, so all their good is turned into evil. As this promise h an influence into all that concerns the people of God, so the ci hath an influence into all the enjoyments of the wicked. O soul, bless the Lord, who hath cast thy lot into such a pleas place, and given thee such a glorious heritage, as this promise i
? ▼ HEN once the dog-star rises, many say. Corn ripens then apace, both night and day. Souls once in Christ, that morning-star lets fall Such influences on them, that all
God's dispensations to them, sweet or sour, Ripen their souls for glory ev'ry hour. All their aflBictions, rightly understood. Are blessings ; evVv wind will blow some good.
Sure at their troubles saints would never grudge. Were sense deposed, and faith made the judge. Falls make them warier, amend their pace ; When gifts puff up their hearts, and weaken grace. Could Satan see the issue, and th' event Of his temptations, he would scarcely tempt. Could saints but see what fruits their troubles bring. Amidst those troubles they would shout and sing. O sacred wisdom ! who can but admire To see how thou dost save from fire, by fire !
No doubt but saints in glory wond'ring stand At those strange methods few now understand.
CHAP. XXVIII.
Storms viahe discovery of the pilots sl-iU : ^^ God's wisdom in affliction trhimphs stilL
282 A NEW COMPASS FOR SEAMEN ; OK,
shews the utmost of his art and skill, and yet sometimt little. They are (as the scripture speaks) at their wtf, not what to do more ; but are forced to commit all to t
God and the seas.
In the storms and tempests of affliction and troub the most evident and full discoveries of the wisdom a
our God : it is indeed continually active for his people
tions, Isa. xxvii. 8. " Lest any hurt it, I will keep it nig Psal. cxxi. 4. " He that keepeth Israel neither slui
*' sleepeth." His people's dangers are without intermissic his preservations are so too. But now, when they coi
strait of affliction and deadly dangers, which threatens 1 every side ; now the wisdom of their God rides trium visibly upon the waves of that stormy sea : and this inf is then especially discovered in these particulars.
1. In leaving them still somewhat in the lieu and re comforts that they are deprived of; so that they see G change their comforts, and that for the better ; and t them. So John xiv. 1, 2, 3. Christ's bodily presence but the Spirit was sent in the room of it, which was b(
2. In doubling their strength, as he doubles their bu observed that the saints have many times very strong and
lation, a little before their greatest trials : and this is so o commonly when they have had their extraordinary from God, they have then looked for some eminent Lord appeared to Abraham, and sealed the covenant then put him upon that great trial of his faith. So Lukexxiv. 49it was commanded them that they shou
*' Jerusalem till they were endowed with power from on Lord knew what a hard providence they were like to he great oppositions and difficulties they must encounter :
the everlasting gospel to the world ; and therefore first endows them with power from on high, viz. with emin of the gifts and graces of the Spirit ; as faith, patienc
&c. So Paul had first his revelations, then his buffet
3. In coming in so opportunely in the time of their ^ with relief and comfort, 1 Pet. iv. 14. " Then the S] " and of God resteth on them." As that martyr cr: friend Austin, at the very stake. He is come, he is cor.
4. In appointing and ordering the several kinds of af 1 „«:^t^ . ^^A „u^tf;^«. ♦ *K^+ ,. , „/n;.
NAVIGATION SPIRITUALIZED.
was sanctified to his good in tliat particulai*. Hezekiah's sin vain-glor}-, therefore spoilers are sent to take away his treasure:
5. In the duration of their troubles, they shall not liealwavs u them, Ps. cxxv. 3. Our God is a God of judgment, Is. xxx. IS.Kn the due time of removing it, and is therein punctual to a day, Rei
BEFLECTIOX.
If the wisdom of God do tlius triumph, and glorify itself in the tresses of the saints, then why should I fear in the day of e\\l ? I xlix. 4. Why doth my heart faint at the foresight and apprel sion of approaching trouble ? Fear none of those things that t shalt suffer, O my soul : if thy God will thus be \vith thee in fire and water, thou canst not perish. Though I walk through
valley of the shadow of death, yet let me fear no evil, whilst my ( is thus with me. Creatures cannot do what they please, his wise limits and over-rules them all to gracious and sweet ends. If God cast me into the furnace to melt and try me, yet I shall noi consumed there ; for he will sit by the furnace himself all the w I am in it, and curiously pry into it, obsening when it hath don< work, and then will presently withdraw the fire. O my soul, b and adore this God of wisdom ! who himself will see the orderin* all thine afflictions, and not trust it in the hands of men or anf^t
THE poe:m. " HOUGH tost in greatest storms, I'll never fear, If Christ will sit at th' helm to guide and steer ; Storms are the triumph of his skill and art ; He cannot close his eyes, nor change his heart. Wisdom and power ride upon the waves. And in the greatjest danger helps and saves.
From dangers it by dangers doth deliver, And wounds the devil out of his own quiver; It countennines his plots, and so dotli spoil, And makes his engines on himself recoil.
It blunts the politician's restless tool, And makes Ahithophel the veriest fool ;
It shews us how our reason us misled. And if he had not we had perished. Lord, to thy wisdom I will give the reins. And not with cares perplex and vex my brains.
CHAP. XXIX.
A NEW COMPASS FOR SEAMEN ; OR,
irrecoverably lost, it is as good it were cast into the sea there lies obscure from all eyes but the eyes of God.
APPLICATION. Thus are the judgments of God and the ways of hi: profound and unsearchable, Psal. xxxvi. 6. " Thy righteo
*' the great mountains, thy judgments are a great dee providences are secret, obscure, and unfathomable ; bu and in those providences, his righteousness stands up li mountains, visible and apparent to every eye. Thouo cannot, see the one, yet they can clearly discern the othe Jeremiah was at a stand ; so was Job in the like case, Jc was Asaph, Psal. Ixxiii. and Habakkuk, chap. i. 3. Th providence are dreadful for their height, Ezek. i. 18. T mysteries of providence, as well a.s of faith. It may be
of them, as of Paul's epistles. That they arc hard to bt darkness and clouds are round about the throne of God
say what will be the particular issue and event of some c sations. Luther seemed to hear God say to him, when h tunate to know his mind in some particular providence non sequax: I am a God not to be traced. Sometimes pro^ Hebrew letters, must be read backward, Psal. xcii. 7.
dences pose men of the greatest parts and graces. " His
*' sea, his paths in the great waters, and his footsteps art Psal. Ixxvii. 19Who can trace footsteps in the bottoi
*' The angels," Ezek. i. "have their hands under 1 The hand is either, symholum roboris, The symbol of instrumentum operationis, The instrument of action : hands are put forth, they work effectually, but very se
are hid under their wings. There be some of God's w such secrets, as that they may not be enquired into ; tl believed and adored, but not pryed into, Rom. xi. 33. may be enquired after, but yet are so profound, that fe stand them, Psal. cxi. 2. " The works of the Lord are ^ " out of all those that have pleasure therein." Whei heaven, then all those mysteries, as well in the works s of God, will lie open to our view.
IIEFLECTION.
O then, why is my heart disquieted, because it cann discern the way of the Lord, and see the connection anc of his providential dispensations ? Why art thou so per soul, at the confusions and disorders that are in the wc
NAVIGATION SPIBITCALIZED. 2^
to call the God of lieaven to account ? Must he render a reason
liis ways, and give an account of his matters to such a worm as I ar Be silent (O my soul) before the Lord, subscribe to his wisdom, a submit to his will whatsoever he doth. However it be, yet God good to Israel ; the event will manifest it to be all over a design love. I know not how to reconcile them to each other, or many them to the promise; yet are they all harmonious betwixt themselv and the certain means of accomplishing the promises. O what a vour is this, that in the midst of the greatest confusions in the wor
God hath given such abundant security to his people, that it sh be well with them ; Amos ix. 8. Eccles, viii. 12.
THE POEM. ORD ! how stupendous, deep, and wonderful Are all thy draughts of providence ! So full Of puzzling intricacies, that they lie Beyond the ken of any mortal eye. A icheel icithin a -ichecVs the scripture notion, And all those wheels transverse, and cross in motion.
All creatures serve it in their place ; yet so, As thousands of them know not what they do. At this or that their aim they do direct ; But neither this nor that is the effect : But something else they do not understand, Which sets all politicians at a stand. Deep counsels at the birth this hand doth break, And deeper things performeth by the weak.
Men are, like horses, set at evVy stage. For providence to ride from age to age ; Which, like a post, spurs on, and makes them run
From stage to stage, until their journey's done ; Then take a fresh ; but they they the business knowNo more than horses the post-letters do.
Yet tho' its works be not conceal"d from sight, 'Twill be a glorious piece when brought to light.
*»JJ3;fgjea.t»^ CHAP. XXX.
Millions of men are sunk into the main; But it shall not those dead alxcays retain.
286 A ?<EW COMPASS FOR SEAMEN ; OK,
But though the sea has received so many thousand li into its devouring throat, yet it is not the absolute lord of them, but rather a steward intrusted with them, till quire an account of them ; and then it must deliver i received, even to a person. Rev. xx. 11, 12. " And I ; ** small and great, stand before God : And the books ^ " and another book was opened, which is the book of " dead were judged out of those things which were v, *' book according to their works. And the sea gave *' which were in it." The doctrine of the resurrection of the body is a dc singular consolations to believers, 1 Cor. xv. and most cl( in scripture, Acts xxvi. 8. Job xix. 25. 1 Cor. xv. &c well for us this point is so plainly revealed ; because a comfortable truth to the people of God, so there is scai that lies under more prejudice, as to sense or reason, an( ficult to receive than this is. The Epicures and Stoics ]
to scorn when he preached it to them, Acts xvii. 32. *] and Quakers at this day reject it as a fable. The Soci same body shall not rise, but an aerial body. And, ii: set up reason as the only judge of supernatural things, i to think, that a body should be restored that hath been b and those ashes scattered in the wind ; as history telli quently done by the bodies of the saints in Dioclesiar when drowned in the sea, and there devoured by sever those again devoured by others. But yet this is not to I the almightypowerof God, that gave them theirfirst bein and impossibilities are for men, but not for him. " Wh^
" thought a thing incredible with you that God shoi ''dead.?" Acts xxvi. 8.
REFLECTION.
And must I rise again where-ever my body falls at d liOrd, how am I concerned to get union with Christ a
By virtue thereof only my resurrection can be made cor blessed to me. Ah ! let my body lie where it will, in let ray bones be scattered, and flesh devoured by won know thou canst, and wilt re-unite my scattered parts body I must stand before thine awful tribunal, to receive
•••rl-i.Tf T Vioirc /1/-vn<i fliovnin Q P/iv tr 1 rt T'linil tlint pnr
NAVIGATION SPIRITUALIZED. S
trumpet, shall awaken me ; and thy mighty power, to which all thii are p)ssible, shall bring me before thy bar.
O Lord, I know that I shall stand in that great assembly at the 1 day, when multitudes, multitudes, even all the sons and daughters Adam, shall appear together. O if I die christless, it were good me that there were no resurrection ; for then those eyes that hi been windows of lust, must behold Christ the Judge, not as a I deemcr, but as a Revenger. That tongue that hath vented so mi of the filthiness of my heart, will then be struck speechless bef him ; and this flesh which I so pampered and provided for, couden ed to everlasting flames. O my God let me make sure work for si a day ! if I now get real union with thy Son, I shall awake with sii ing out of the dust ; and then, as thou saidst to Jacob, so to me, wl
I go down into the sea, or grave, Gen. xlvi. 3, 4. " Fear not to
'• down into the deep ; for I will surely bring thee up again."
JLT should not seem incredible to thee, That God should raise the dead in seas that be ; We see in winter, swallows, worms, and flies
Deprived of life, yet in the spring they rise. What tho' your bodies sevVal fish devour. Object not that to the Almighty powV. Some ch\Tnists in their art are so exact, That from one herb thev usually extract Four different elements ; what think ve then Can pose that God who gave this skill to men ^ The gard'ner can distinguish thirty kinds Of seeds from one another, tho' he finds Them mix'd together in the selfsame dish ; Much more can God distinguish flesh from fisli.
They seem as lost, but they again must live ;
The sea's a steward, and stewards account must give.
liOok what you are, when in the ocean drown'd. The very same at judgment youll be found. I would not care where my vile body lies. Were I assured it should with comfort rise.
k^-S'S;:?^'^!
CHAP. XXXI.
B88 A NEW COMPASS FOR SEAMEN ; OE,
dangerous : the sight of the shore is to them (as Sol of the morning in another case) like the shadow of deal to weather it. For one ship swallowed up in the ocean, upon the coast. APPLICATIOX. The greatest straits and difficulties that many saints all their lives, is when they come nearest to heaven, an< finished their course. Heaven indeed is a glorious pla ous and royal mansion of the Great King ; but difficUia i it hath a strait and narrow entrance, Luke xiii. 24. O of arriving there ! how many hard tugs in duty, whai tention and striving even to an agony ! as that word ii xiii. 24. Multitudes put forth, and by profession are \ Jmr haven : but of the multitudes that put out, how
there ? A man may set out by a glorious profession v solution, and continue long therein ; he may offer ve and not be far from the kingdom of God, and yet n( enter at the last, Matth. vii. 22.
Yea, and many of those who are sincere in their pi do arrive at last, yet come to heaven (as I may say) b hell ; and put in, as a poor weather-beaten vessel co harbour, more like a wreck than a ship, neither mast
The righteous themselves are scarcely saved, i. e. tl with very much difficulty. They have not all an abuna as the apostle speaks, 2 Pet. i. 11.
' Some persons (as * one well notes) are q/ar off"., E{ * touched with no care of religion : some come near, bi * as semi-converts. See INIatth. xii. 34. Others enter, b
* difficulty, they are saved as by fire, 1 Cor. iii. 13. J * shift. But then there are some that go in with full i * wind, and have an abundant entrance; they go triun * the world." Ah ! when we come into the narrow cl very point of entrance into life, the soul is then in the frame : all things look with a new face ; conscience ; dence most critically ; then, also, Satan falls upon us, i sorest assaults and batteries. It is the last encounter ; him now, they are gone out of his reach for ever : anc
hinder their salvation, yet if he can but cloud their make them go groaning and howling out of the work another end by it, even to confirm and prejudice the Aveaken the hands of others that are lookinsr towards r
NAVIGATION SPiaiTUALIZED.
an ungocllv creature as I appear? O Lord ! if they tliat have mi religion their business, and have been many years pursuing a wc of mortification, have gone mourning after the Lord Jesus, a walked humbly with God ; yet if some of these have such an h; tug at last, then what will become of such a vain, sensual, careh flesh-pleasing wretch as I have been ?
Again, Do saints find it so strait an entrance ? Then, thougl have well grounded hopes of safe arrival at last ; yet let me look it, that I do not increase the difficulty. Ah ! they are the thii that are now done, or omitted, that put conscience into such agony then ; for then it comes to review the life with the most s* ous eye, O let me not stick my death-bed full of thorns, agains come to lie down upon it. O that I may turn to the wall in t hour, as Hezekiah did, 2 Kings xx. 2, 3. and say, " Rememi *' now, O Lord, how I have walked before thee in truth, and w " a perfect heart,"" kc.
A THE POEM.
FTER a tedious passage, saints descry The glorious shore, salvation being nigh :
Death's long-boat's launch''d, ready to set ashore Their panting souls. O how they tug at oar. Longing to be at rest ! but then they find The hardest tug of all is yet behind. Just at the harbour s mouth they see the wreck
Of souls there cast away, and driven back. A world of dangVous rocks before it lie ;
The harbour's barr'd, and now the winds blow high ; Thoughts now arise, fears multiply ajjace ; All things above them have another fac?. Life blazes, just like an expiring light.
The soul's upon the lip prepar d for flight. Death, till the resurrection, tears and rends.
Out of eacli other's arms two parting friends. The soul and body. Ah ! but more than so. The devil falls upon them ere thev go. With new temptations, back'd with all his pow'r. And scruples kept on purpose for that hour. This is the last encounter, now, or never ;
If he succeedeth now, they're gone for ever. Thus in they put, with hardship at the last, As ships out of a storm, nor snil. nnr mn«t •
290 A IsEW COMPASS FOR SEAMEN ; OB,
CHAP. XXXIII.
Hoiv glad are seamen when th-eij make the sho
And saints, no less, zvhen all their danger''s o'e
▼ T HAT joy is there among seamen, when at last, r>us and dangerous voyage, they descry land, and se
haven before them ? Then they turn out of their lo and come upon open deck with much joy. Psal. cvii
" they are glad, because they be quiet : So he brinj " their desired haven." Now they can reflect with ( the many dangers they have past, OUm hcec meminisi is sweet to recount them.
But O what a transcendent joy, yea, ravishing, will hearts of saints, when, after so many conflicts, temptatic lions, they arrive in glory, and are harboured in heave shall rest for ever ! 2 Thess. i, 7. The scripture saith,
" sing the song of Moses, and of the Lamb,"" Rev. x v. of Moses was a triumphant song composed for the celel glorious deliverance at the red sea. The saints are nc upon a troublesome and tempestuous sea; their heai ready to sink, and die within them, at the apprehensic and great dangers and difficulties. Many a hard stc out, and many straits and troubles they here encounte
last they arrive at their desired and long-expected ha-s heaven rings and resounds with their joyful acclamatioi can it be otherwise, when as soon as ever they set f glorious shore, Christ himself meets and receives them v
** ye blessed of my Father," Matth. xxv, 34. O joj much desired word ! saith Parteus, what tribulation
man undergo for this word''s sake ! Besides, then they are perfectly freed from all evil sin or suffering, and perfectly filled with all desired goo shall join with that great assembly, in the high praise what a day will this be ! If (said a * worthy divine) 1 away with an excess of joy, whilst he embraced his tl were crowned as victors in the Olympic games in one d; old Simeon, when he saw Christ but in a body subjec
NAVIGATION SPIRITUALIZED. J
Tiatius saith, make a choir, as it were, about that star that appea;
at Christ's intamation, and there is such joy in heaven at the c version of a sinner ; no wonder then, the morninf^ stars sinir totjeth and the sons of God shout for joy, when the general assembly m in heaven. O how will the arches of heaven rinor and echo, wl
the hi<rh praises of God shall be in the mouth of such a cons gation ! then shall the saints be joyful in glory, and sing aloud uj
tlitir beds of everlasting rest.
HEFLECTIOX.
And is there such a day approaching for the sons of God, indet and have I [nuthorih/] to call myself one of the number ! John i.
0 then let me not droop at present difiiculties, nor hang down i hands when I meet with hardships in the way. O my soul, wi a joyful day will this be ! for at present we are tossed upon an oc( of troubles, fears, and temptations ; but these will make heaven
sweeter.
Cheer up, then, O my soul, thy salvation is now nearer than wl thou first believedst, Rom. xiii. 11. and it will not now be long 1 receive the end of mv faith, 1 Pet. i. 9and then it Avill be sw
to reflect even upon these hardships in the way. Yet a few di more, and then comes that blessed day thou hast so long wail and jjanted for. Oppose the glory of that dav, O my soul, to t
present abasures and sufferings, as blessed Paul did, Rom. i. ' and thou shalt see how it will shrink them all up to nothing; opp< the inheritance thou shalt receive in that day, to thv losses : Christ now ; and see how joyfully it will make thee bear the Heb. X. 34. oppose the honour that will be put upon thee in tl day, to thy present reproaches, and see how easy it will make th( to thee, 1 Cor. iv. 5. What condition can I be in, wherein the I
lieving thoughts of this blessed day cannot relieve me ?
Am I poor, here is that which answers {X)verty : James iii.
" Hearken, my beloved brethren, hath not God cl.osen the poor " this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom ?""
Am I tempted ? here is relief against that : Rev. xii. 16. " N< " is come salvation and strength ; for the accuser of our brethren " cast do^v^l,'" Sfc.
Am I deserted ? here is a remedy for that too. Rev. xxii. 5. " Ai " there shall be no night there," Sfc. Come, then, mv soul, let enter upon our inheritance by degrees, and begin the liie of heav
upon earth.
292 A XKW coMrAss roil seamen ; or, &c.
How will the ravish'd souls transported be At the first glimpse of Christ ! whom they shall In all his glory ; and shall live and move, Like salamanders, in the fire of love,
A flood of tears conveyed them to the gate Where endless joys received them. Now the da Of all their sorrow's out ; henceforth they walk In robes of glory. Now there's no more talk Of fears, temptations, of that snare or this : No serpent in that paradise doth hiss. No more desertions, troubled thoughts, or tears
Christ's full enjoyment supersedes those fears. Delights of princes courts are all but toys To these delights, these are transcendent joys,
'J.'he joys of Christ himself; of what they are, An angel's tongue would stammer to declare. Were our conceptions clear, did their tongues gi
Unto their Ela^ yet the note's too low. What ! paint the sun too bright ! it cannot be ; Sure heaven suffers no hyperbole.
My thoughts are swallow'd up, vay muse doth t: And hang her wings, conception soars no highei
Give me a place among thy children there,
Altho' I lie M'ith them in dungeon here.
A CONCLUDING SpEECH.
-BL HAVE now done, and am looking to heaven for a these weak labours ; what use you will make of then but this I know, that the day is coming, when Go with you for this, and all other helps and means affl and if it be not improved by you, be sure it will be witness against you. Sirs, I beg you, in the name of whom both you and I must shortly appear, that yc these things in vain. Did I know what other lawfu
that might reach yoiu* hearts, they should not be in but I cannot do God's part of the work, nor yours : ^ you all, both masters, common men, and all others int this shall come, that you will lay to heart what you re him that hath the key of the house of David, that o man shutteth, to open your hearts to give entertair truths. Alas ! if you apply it not to yourselves, I ha
THt EPISTLE DEDiCATOllY.
«' and have not obeyed the^oiceof my teacher, nor inchned my ea « to them that instructed me?" And O what a dreadful shnek w such souls crive, when the Lord opens their eyes to see that mise
that they are here warned of ! But if the Lord shall bless these thin to vour conversion, then we may sav to vou, as Moses did to Zeb
lun, the mariners tribe, Deut. ixxiii. 1^'. " Rejoice Zebulunin tl
" going out.'' The Lord will be with you, which way soever y( turn yourselves ; and being in the bosom of the covenant, you a safe in the midst of all dangers. O thou, that art the Father of s] rits, that formetlst and canst easily reform the heart, open thou t
blind eye, unstop the deaf ear, let the world take hold upon the hea If thoii wilt but say the word, these weak labours shall prosper, bring home many lost souls unto thee. Amen.
A PATHETICAL AND SERIOUS DISSUASIVE
FROM THE
Horrid and detestable SINS of Drunkenness, Swearing, Uncle;
ness, Forgetfulness of Mercies, Violation of Promises, and atl istical Contempt of Death.
Applied by way of Cautiox to Seajiex, and now added as Appendix to their New Compass.
Being an Ess at toward their much-desired Reformation, fit to be seriously rec«
mended to their profane Relations whether Seamen or others, by all such as feignedly desire their eternal Welfare.
To the right worshipful Sir JOHN FREDERICK, Kt. one
the worshipful Aldermen of the City of London, and their 1 nourable Burgess in the present Parliament : and to the tn religious and ever honoured Mr. John Loveeixg, of the Citj London, Merchant.
Much honottred and esteemed^
LTHOUGH dedications are too often abused to a vain flatte yet there is an excellent use and advantage to be made of the
?9i THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY-
UpoTi the first account, a dedication would be nee
for I am persuaded, you do not only in your judgmen'
design I here manage, viz. The reformation of the looser sort of our seamen ; but are also heartily willi your interest to the uttermost for the promotion of look upon you as persons acted by that low and comr the most of your profession are acted by, who little r
be good servants to them, whether God have any ser' or not ; and if they pay them the wages due for thei think of the wages they are to receive for their sin. Y to be persons of another spirit, who do not only mine
Christ's interest above your own, and negotiate for his as for your own gain : and yet herein you consult yoi
as well as God's : Siibo? cUnata iwn pugnant. Your ii more prosperously managed, or abundantly secured, t carried on in a due subordination to God's. Their re apparently tend to your advantage. Those sins of which I have here engaged, are the Jonahs in your s that sinks them, and drives them against the rocks.
" destroyeth much good," Eccl. viii. 11. Row mucl crew of them conspiring to provoke God ! the death is the more probable means to give life to your tr these counsels prosper in their hearts, so will your bus your hands. Piety and prosperity are married togeth mise, Psal. i. 3. Onesimus was never so profitable a s iemon, as when he became his brother in a spiritnal, servant in a cii^iZ capacity, Phil. ver. 11. and 16. compai
if your interest were forced to step back, to give way hope you would (notwithstanding) rejoice therein. S sent business is, not so much to persuade you, whose God hath already persuaded to so good a work ; as fame and respects, which are great among them, an to tempt them to their dxxiy. And if either your nan may be useful to such an end, I presume I may use th
welcome; for, sure I am, they can never be put to a
Well then, I will make bold to send this small adv(
ships ; and if the return of it be but the conversion (
God, I shall reckon that I have made a better voyagt your returns be never so rich.
How these things will affect them I know not. I will produce different effects upon them, according tc
A SOBER CONSIDERATION, SiC.
guilty can be supposed tobe angry at them, they will thereby rcpro themselves a great deal more than ever I intended to do.
I confess it is a bitter pill and compounded of many operative strong ingredients which do acute it ; but not a jot more than is cessary. I shall beg the assistance of your prayers to God for th and of your grave admonitions and exhortations to them for G< which will much help its operation, and facilitate my design, tc their souls a piece of everla^sting service ; with which design I truly say, I even travail in pain for them. Your assistance there] in tiiis good work, will put the highest obligation upon
Your most affectionate
Friend and Servant,
to be commanded,
JOHN FLAVEI
SOBER CONSIDERATION
OF THE SIN OF DRUNKENNESS.
M. N the former treatise I have endeavoured to spiritualize earl objects, and elevate your thoughts to more sublime and excel contemplations ; that earthly things may rather be a step, than a i
to heavenly. You have therein my best advice to guide you in j course to that port of your eternal rest and happiness.
In this I have given warning of some dangerous rocks and qu sands that lie upon your left hand ; upon which millions of souls \ perished, and others are wilfully running to their own perdition. S
are the horrid sins of drunlcenness, uncleanness, iprofane szcear, violation of promises, engagements made to God, aiid atheist slighting and contempt of death and eternity. All which I have 1 given warning of, and held forth a light to discover where your dai
is. If after this you obstinately prosecute your lusts, and will no reclaimed ; you perish without apology, I have freed mine own s
Let none interpret this necessary plainness as a reproach to sean as if I represented them to the world worse than they are. If, u that account, anv of them be ofFpnded. mpthinks these three or j
296 A SOBER <i05rsiDERATI0\''
upon one side, if we do not speak plain and home, as
of the case requires ; and man's wrath if we do : what this strait ? Either God or you, it seems, must be offer cannot be avoided, I shall rather hazard your anger tl think it far more tolerable.
Secondly, If you did but see the necessity and end of
dealing with your souls, you would not be offended. ' a more sensible case, and you will see and acknowled] If I should see an high-built wall giving way, and rea* you, would you be angry with me, if by plucking j danger, I should pluck your arm out of joint; certaii
not. Why, this is the case here : See Isa. xxx. 13. " '
*' iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, sw " high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly, at an
Thirdly, What a madness is it to abide in a conditi all woes and curses hang, and yet not be able to endur Why, what will it profit you to have your misery hid fi
and kept from your ears a little while .'' You must see t hear louder voUies of woes from your own consciences, in this condition. You cannot bear that from us, wli science will one of these days preach themselves to you more dreadful dialect than I have used here.
Fourthly, I do not charge these sins indifferently men. No, I know there are some choice and good men men, that fear an oath, and hate even the garments spi flesh, who are (I question not) the credit and glory of oi tion, in the eyes of strangers that converse with them, think that all that are wicked amongst them are equall these evils ; for though all that are graceless be equ£ dominion of original corruption, yet it follows not fror therefore actual sins must reign alike in them : tliere is ence, even among ungodly men themselves in this re difference ariseth from their various customs, constitut educations, and the different administrations of the Spii ening, convincing, and putting checks upon conscienci God be not the author, yet he is the orderer of sin. A
a great disparity, even among wicked men themselves, sons of good morals, though not gracious principles, v a civil and sober, though not a holy and religious life, though they live in some one of these lusts, yet are not ^ others of them. For it is with original corruption, ju
OF THE SIV OF DttD:K'KENNESS.
10 some sinful object ; and therefore look as it is with the appc with respect to food, so it is with the vitiated appetites of soul sin. One man loves this food best, and another that ; there is e
less variety in that, and so in this.
Having spoken thus much to remove offence, I shall now beg; to peruse the following discourse. Consider what evidence tl
tilings carry with them. Search the alleged scriptures, see if tl be truly recited and applied to the case in hand : And if so, tremble at the truth you read ! bring forth your lusts, that they n die the death. Will you not part with these abominable pract till death and hell make the separation ? Ah ! how much bette
it for you that grace should do it ? And because many of you not the danger, and therefore prize not the remedy, I do here quest all those that have the bowels of pity in them, for their p relations, who are sinking, drowning, perishing, to spread these lowing cautions before the Lord for a blessing, and then put th into their hands. And O that all pious masters would persuade
those that are under their charge to buy this ensuing treatise, i diligently peruse it. And the first caution I shall give them is i\
TCAUTIOX I. AKE heed, and beware of the detestable sin of drunkenn< which is a beastly sin, a voluntary madness, a sin that unmans th and makes thee like the beasts that perish ; yea, sets thee bel the beasts, which will not drink to excess ; or, if they do, yet i not their sin. * One of the ancients calls it, ' A distemper of ' head, a subversion of the senses, a tempest in the tongue, a sto ' of the body, the shipwreck of virtue, the loss of time, a wil ' madness, a pleasant devil, a sugared poison, a sweet sin, which ' that has, has not himself, and he that commits it, doth not oi ' commit sin, but he himself is altogether sin."" It is a sin at whi the most sober headiens blushed. The Spartansbrought their childi to loath it, by shewing them a drunkard, whom they gazed at a; monster : Even Epicurus himself, who esteemed happiness to cons in pleasure, yet was temperate, as Cicero observes. Among t heathens he was accounted the best man, that spent more oil in I lamp, than wine in the lx)ttle. Christianity could once glory in professors : Tertullian saith of the primitive Christians, they sat x down before they prayed ; they eat no more tlian might suffice hung< tliey drank no more than was sufficient for temperate men ; they d so eat and drink, as those that remembered they must pray afterwai But now we may blush to behold such beastly sensualists adornii
298 A SOBER COXSIDERATION
Anrl amongst those that profess Christianity, how ord sill coniniitted by seamen ? This insatiable dropsy is a reigns, especially among the inferior and ruder sort of t of them have gone aboard drunk, and laid the founda voyage in sin. O what a preparation is this ! They knov ever they shall see the land of their nativity any more: tl may send them into eternity : Yet this is the farewell tl is their preparation to meet the Lord. And so in their withstanding the terrible and astonishing works of the they have beheld with their eyes, and their marvellous in so great and terrible extremities; yet thus do they reqi as soon as their dangers are over, as if they had been commit all these abominations. But a few hours or da; were reeling to and fro upon a stormy ocean, and sts drunken men, as it is said, Psal. cvii. 27. and now ycu i reeling and staggering in the streets, drowning the sens precious mercies and deliverances in their drunken cu
Reader, if thou be one that is guilty of this sin, f sake bethink thyself speedily, and weigh, with the reai what I shall now say, in order to thy conviction, hun reformation. I need not spend many words, to open this sin to you ; we all grant, that there is a lawful us strong drink to support nature, not to clog it ; to cu
not to cause them. " Drink no longer water, but use
" for thy stomach's siike, and thine often infirmity,'" Timothy, 1 Tim. v. 23. Mark, drink not water, hx
mod'ice, (i. e.) medice : pro remedio^ nan pro deliciis, sait that is, use it modestly, viz. medicinally, not for plej remedy. Yea, God allows it, not only for bare nece cheerfulness and alacrity, that the body may be more expedite for duty, Prov. xxxi. 7. but further no man p out the violation of sobriety. When men sit till wine them, and reason be disturbed, (for drunkenness is th reason, caused by immoderate drinking,) then do the the guilt of this horrid and abominable sin. To the sj refreshment of nature, you may drink ; for it is a part ■
drink, and not be satisfied ; but take heed and go no i
*' wine is a [mocker,] strong drink is raging, and wli