Front matter (continued, part 12)
V. 19. " Let her be as the loving hind, and pleasan *' breasts satisfy thee at all times, and be thou ravisht " her love."
Direct. 7. Take heed of running on in a course of superstition and idolatry : in Avhich cases, and as a which evils God often gives up men to these vile afle
25, 16. " Who changed the truth of God into a lie ; " and served the creature more than the Creator, wlic " ever, Amen. [For this cause] God gave them u] " tions,'' &c. They that defile their souls by idolati God suffers, as a just reconipence, their bodies also to uncleanness, that so their ruin may be hastened. Let of traditions beware of such a judicial tradition as tl: him that is thus delivered by the hand of an angry Goc ment in the world like this, when God punishes sin w he shall suflfer those zoimi ivmiag, those common notice
to be quenched, and all restraints to be moved out of 1
it will not be long e'er that sinner come to his own pi
CAUTIOX IV.
J.N the next place I shall make bold to expostulate a 1: consciences concerning the precious mercies you have
the solemn promises you liave bound yourselves witl taining of those mercies. I fear God hath many bankr mong you, that have dealt slipperily and unfaithfully v have not rendered to the Lord according to the great i done for them, nor according to those good things the to the mighty God of Jacob. But truly if thou be a dt cy, thou shalt be a pattern of wrath. God will remei
fury ^'hofor^^et him in his favours. I will tell you wha eminent minister once told his people (dealing with th sin of unthankfulness for mercy) ; and I pray God it r duly. * * Let us all mourn (saith he) and take on ; we
MERCIES AXD PROMISES.
• ing all. He cannot have what he would have, what he si ' have, he will take what he can get : for money he will take g
• limbs, arms, legs; he will have his own out of your skin, o
• vour blood, out of your bodies and souls. He is setting the C
' tian world as hght and as low as they have set his love. Ah, ] • what a time do we live in ! long-suffering is at an end, mere}
• be righted injustice, justice will have all behind, it will be • to the utmost farthing ; it will set abroach your blood, but i
• have all behind," See. Do you hear, souls .' Is not this sad news to some of you, have received vast sums of mercy, and given God your bond ft repavment of him in praise and answerable fruit, and yet forfeits and lost your credit with God .' O how can you look God in the
with whom vou have dealt so perfidiously ! I am now come i name of God to demand his due of you ; to call to reraembranc former receipts of mercy which you mind not, but God doth there is a witness in your bosom that doth, and will one day wi to your faces, that you have dealt perfidiously with your God. souls have been the graves of mercy, which should have been many gardens where thev should have lived and flourished, come now to open those graves, and view those mercies that unthankfulness hath killed and buried, to lay them before your and see whether your ungrateful hearts will bleed upon them, ried mercies are not lost for ever ; they shall as certainly have a d
• resurrection as thyself: it were better for thee they should h. resurrection now in thv heart, than to rise as witnesses against when thou shalt rise out of the dust : that will be a terrible rest
tion indeed, when they shall come to plead against thy soul. No pleads more dreadfully against a soul than abused mercy doth. ] shall come to the particulars upon which I interrogate vour cons ces ; and I pray deal truly and ingenuously in answering these qu
Quer. 1. And, first, I shall demand of you, whether you nevei experience of the power and goodness of God, in restoring vi
health from dangerous sicknessand diseases.^ Have vou not some had the sentence of death in yourselves.'' And that possibly whe: have been in remote parts, far from your friends and relations, destitute of all means and accommodations. Did you not say ii: condition, as Hezckiali did in a like case ? Isa. xxxviii. 10, 11
'■ I said, in the cuttinjj off of my davs, I shall go to tlie grates c
'• grave : I am deprived of the residue of my years. I said, I *' not see the liord, even the Lord in the land of the livintr : I slia
S26 MERCIES at<:d promises.
vou began your voysige, and yet they were cast for dt life, and that when there was but an hair's breadth bet the grave ? Tell me, soul, what friend wastliat who i then, when thou wast forsaken of all thy friends ? Wl thy companions stood ready to throw thee over-board, w pitied and remembered thee in thy low estate ? Who ^ buked thy disease ! or, (as * one very aptly expresses it
* the humours of thy body from overflowing and drowi * For, when they are let out in a sickness, they would < drown it, as the waters would the earth, if God shou
' them, stay, you proud waves.' Who was it, man, tl body was brought low and Aveak, and hke a crazy rot storm, took in water on all sides, so that all the physician could not have stopped those leaks .^ Consider what h which quieted and calmed the tempestuous sea, careem ed thy crazy body, and launched thee into the world ag£ as sound, as strong as ever ? Was it not the Lord that
this for thee ? Did he not keep back thy soul from the life from perishing .^ Yea, when thou wast chastened wii thy bed, (as Elihu speaks) Job xxxiii. 19, 20, 9A. anc tude of thy bones with strong pains, so that thy life abh and thy soul dainty meat ; thy flesh consumecl away, i not be seen, and thy bones that Avere not seen, stuck ou as it is ver. 28. he delivered thy soul from going down and caused thy life to see the light. Had the lamp of 1 extinguished, thou hadst gone down into endless darkn* shut her mouth upon thee. Now tell me soul, what ha with this precious mercy.? Hast thou walked before the L^ sense thereof, and answered his end therein, which was
to repentance? Or hath thy stupid or disingenuous heart and lost all sense of it, so that God's end is frustrated, ai lion not a jot furthered thereby .? Oh ! if it be so, woe the blood of this mercy, which thy ingratitude hath mi the blood of Abel cries to God against thee. What a thou thus to requite the Lord for such a mercy ! He sj and heard thy groans, and said within himself, he shall live. Alas, poor creature ! if I cut him off now, he is et I will send him back a few years more into the world. I once more, it may be he will bear some fruits to me fn verance; and if so, well; if not, I will cut him down he
shall be set at liberty upon his good behaviour a little Ion/
I I I I t
MERCIES ATfD PROMISES.
jiiiv. for a mere intennission of their torments, much more as
of patience aud mercv. O consider what pity and goodness tho abused I
Query 2. Wast thou never cast upon miserable straits and mities, wherein the good providence of God relieved and su tliee ? How raanv of vou have been beaten so long at sea, I
son of contrary winds and other accidents, until your provision been exhausted and spent. To how short allowance have yoi kept. And what a mercy would you have esteemed it, if you but have satisfied nature with a full draught of water. Ceri this hath ben the case with many of you. O what a price and did you then set upon these common mercies, which at otlier have been shghtly overlooked ! And when you have seen no of relief, have vou not looked sadlv one upon another.'^ j
mav be, said, as that widow of Sarepta did to the prophet, 1
x^-ii. 12. " And she said, as the Lord thy God liveth, I have
" cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little o
•' cruse ; and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I mav
*' and dress it for me and m v son, that we may eat it and die." such hath been your case ; yet hath that God, whose mercies ai all his works, heard your sorrows, and provided relief for you, bv some ship, which providence sent to relieve you in that distr by altering the winds, and sending you safe to the land before al
provisions have been spent. And hast thou kept no records of gracious providences .' Yea, dost thou abuse the creature, whei art brought again to the full enjoyment of it ; and possibly re< the creatures, (whose worth thou hast latelv seen in the wj them) without thanksgiNnng, or a sensible acknowledgment ( goodness of God in them .^ I sav, dost thou thus answer the i
tations of God 't Well, beware lest God teach such an unv creature, by woeful experience, that the opening of his hand t thee a mercy, is worth the opening thv lips to bless him for it.
ware lest that unthankful mouth that will not bless the Lo bread and water, have neither the one nor the other to bles for. I can give you a sad instance in the case, and I have fo it in the writing of an eminent divine, who said he had it from i and ear-witness of the truth of it. A young man Iving upon hi
bed, was always calhng for meat ; but when the meat he call was brought unto him, he shook and trembled dreadfullv at th( of it, and that in every part of his body, and so continued ur food was carried away. And thus he did as often as any foo
t I '
32S MKRCIES AKD PROMTSKS.
Lord, in tJie greatest dangers and hazards of life ; in ; when men have dropt down at your right hand, and £ and yet the Lord hath covered your heads in the da And though you have been equally obnoxious to death with others, yet your name was not found among thei of the dead. Or, in shipwrecks, ah, how narrowly hi you escaped ! a plank hath been cast in, you know not you, when your companions, for want of it, have gone bottom; or you have been enabled to swim to^the ; others have fainted in the way, and perished ? In whi Strange and astonishing providences hath God worl< some of you, and what returns have you made to God sirs ! I beseech you, consider but these two or three t
shall now lay before you to consider of.
Comid. I. An heathen will do more for a duno-.hil] thou, that callest thyself a Christian, wilt do for tiie tri made heaven and earth, Dan. v. 4. They praised the ver, and of gold, and of brass, of iron, wood, and sto the Philistines were delivered from the hand of Sams
saith, Judg, xvi. 24. " They praised their god," &c. 1 must be extolled. O let shame cover thy face !
Consid. 2. That the abuse of mercy and love is a sin th to the heart of God. Oh ! he cannot bear it. It is noi out of mercy that troubles him, for that he doth with d
the recoiling of his mercies upon him by the creatures' i this wounds. " Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, am " ribly afraid.'' And again, " Hear, O heavens, and j *' earth," Isa. i. 2. q. d. O you innocent creatures, whicl observe the law of your creation, be you all astonished \
in black, to see nature cast by sin so'far below itself, av creature so much superior to you as man, who in the was crowned a king, and admitted into the highest order c and set as lord and master over you ; yet dotli he act ndt himself, but below the very beasts. " The ox knoweth
(i. e.) there is a kind of gratitude in the beasts, by whi knowledge their benefactors that feed and preserve tl what a pathetical exclamation is that, Deut. xxxii. 6. " E
" requite the Lord, O foolish people, and unwise."
Consid. 3. It is a sin that kindles the wrath of God, anc it burn dreadfully against thee, unthankful sinner: It s anger of God, in whomsoever it be found, though in the
JlEUCIiiS AND PROMISES.
*i. ^- How shall I pardon thee for this ?'' This forgetting of the that saves us in our extremities is a sin that brings desolation and
the effects of God's high displeasure upon all our tennwral e ments. See that remarkable scripture, Isa. xvii. 10, 11. " Be " thou hast [forgotten] the God of [tiiy salvation,] and has " been [mindful] of the rock of [thy strength :] Therefore shalt " plant pleasant plants, and shall set it with strange slips : In th " shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt " make thy seed to flourish ; but the harvest shall be an heap i
" day of grief, and desperate sorrow."" The meaning is, that will blast and curse all thine employments, and thou shalt be v desj)erate sorrow. The meaning is, that God will blast and all thine employments, and thou shalt be under desperate soi
by reason of the disappointment of thy hopes.
' Consid. 4. It is a sin that cuts off' mercy from you in future sti If you thus requite the Lord for former mercies, never expect th in future distresses. God is not weary of his blessings, to cast awav upon such souls as are but graves to them. IVIark what ply GoA made to the Israelites, when they cried unto him for
being invaded by the Amorites, Judg. x. 11, 12, 13. " Did not " liver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, fror " children of Ammon, and from the Philistines f The Zido " also, and the Amalekites, and ye cried unto me, and I deliverec
*' out of their hand. Yet ye have forsaken me, and served (
" gods, wherefore I will deliver vou no more.'" O sad world ! as if the Lord had said, I have tried what mercy and deliverano do mth vou, and I see you are never the better for it : Delivei is but seed sown upon the rocks. I will cast away no more fa^ upon you ; now look to yourselves, shift for yourselves for tir come ; wade through your troubles as well as you can. O breth there is nothing more quickly works the ruin of a people thai abuse of mercy. O, methinks, this text should strike terror your hearts.^ How often hath God delivered vou.'' Remembei eminent deliverance at such a time, in such a country, out of sii deep distress : God was gracious to thy cry then, thou hast forg< and abused his mercy : what now, if God should say as in the therefore I will deliver thee no more ? Ah, poor soul ! what woi thou do then, or to whom wilt thou turn ? It may be thou wilt c
the creatures for help and pitv ; but, alas ! to what purpose ! ^ will give as cold and as comfortless an answer as Samuel gave Saul, 1 Sam. xxvlii. 15, 16. " And Samuel said unto Saul, Wl
i I 4 1
330 MEKCIES AND PROMISES.
thou wilt be a poor shiftless creature, if once by abusin. make it thme enemy ! '
Conoid. 5. It is breach of vows made in distress to mercies; they have been easily forgotten and violated 1 thou hast obtamed thy desire : A word or two to convii a further evil lies in this, and how by this considera come to be buoyed up to a greater height and aggra' tulness ; and then I have done with this head.
J vow is a promise made to God, in the things of obligation of It is, by casuists, judged to be as great oath. It IS a sacred and solemn bond, wherein a soul 1 m lawful things; and being once bound by it, it is a i evil to violate it. It is an high piece of dishonesty to fai have promised to men, saith * Dr. Hall ; but to disappoii vows, is no less than sacrilege. The act is free and vo
It once a,]ust and lawful vow or promise hath past your 1 you may not be false to God in keeping it. It is with us i as It was with Ananias and Sapphira, for their substanc
" It remamed (saith Peter) was it not thine own ?" He r sell and give it; but if he will give, he mav not reserve to save some; he hes to the Holy Ghost, that defalks froi he engaged himself to bestow. If thou hast vowed tc God of Jacob, look to it that thou be faithful in thy p tor he IS a great and jealous God, and will not be mod
Now I am confident there be many among you, that mer distresses, have solemnly engaged your souls thus h
If he would deliver you out of those dangers, and spare yo would walk more strictly, and live more holy lives than e You have, it may be, engaged vour souls to the Lord t
sins, as drunkenness, lying, swearing, uncleanness, or
evil It was that your conscience then smote you for ; God (I say) are upon many of you. But have vox
those vows that your lips have uttered ? Have you deal
God ? or have you mocked him, and lied unto him
hps, and omitted those very duties you promised to p( returned to the self-same evils you have promised to fors; put the question, let your consciences answer it. Bu:
mdeed, that thou art' a person that makest light of ments to God, as indeed seamen's vows and sick men's p for the most part, deceitful and slippery things, beir from them by fear of death, and not from any deep re
I I t I >
MEHCIES AND TROMISES.
lips have promised. And to move you thereunto, let these c derations among many others, be laid to heart.
Consid. 1. Think seriously upon the greatness of that ma whom thou hast wronged by lying to him, and falsifying th; gagements. O think sadly on this ! it is not man whom thou abused, but God ; even that God in whose hand thy life and bi is. For although (as one truly observes) there be not in every a formal invocation of God, (God being the proper correlate, as it were, a party to every vow, and therefore not fonnally invoked for the contestation of it ;) yet, there is in every vo implicit calling God to witness ; so that certainly the obligatii a vow is not one jot beneath that of an oath. Now if God be party to whom thou hast past thy promise, and that obligatic that ground be so great ; Oh what hast thou done ! for a poor ^ to mock the most glorious Majesty of heaven, and break faith
God; what a dreadful thing is that? if it were but to thy ft creature, though the sin would be great ; yet not like unto
Let me say to thee as the prophet Isaiah, chap. vii. 13. " I
" small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my
*' also.*^'' If you dare to deceive and abuse men, dare you do God also ? Oh ! if the exceeding vileness of the sin do not thee, yet methinks the danger of provoking so dreadful a Mj against thee should ! And therefore consider,
Cons'id. S. That the Lord will most certainly be aven^jed thee for these things, except thou repent. O read, and trem
the word of God ! Eccl. v. 4, 5, 6. " When thou vowest a vow " God, defer not to pay it : for he hath no pleasure in fools " that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou should;
i I
" vow, than that thou shouldst vow, and not pay. Suffer nc " mouth to cause thy flesh to sin, neither say thou, before tl " gel, that it was an error ; wherefore |^ should God be ang:
" thy voice, and [destroy] the works of thy hands.'*" Mark, will be angry, and in that anger he will aestroy the work <
hands, i. e. saith Deodate, * biing thee and all thy actions to nc
' by reason of thy periury.' No'w, the anger of God, whic breach of promise kindles, as appears by this text, is a dreadfi
O, what creature can stand before it ! as Asaph speaks, " Ixxvi. 7. '• Thou, even thou art to be feared ; and who may
" in thy sight, when once thou art angr\' ?"
Consid. 3. Consider, that all this while thou sinncst against ledffe and conviction ; for did not thv conscience plainly coi
832 MERCIES AKD PROMISES.
rule : and if so, poor sinner, what a case art thou in, to day to day sinning against light and knowledge ? Is nol ful way of sinning ? and will not such sinners be plungec hell than the poor Indians, that never saw the evil of tt thou dost? Ponder but two or three scriptures in thy th see what a dreadful way of sinning this is : Rom. ii. 9.
" tion, anguish, and wrath, to every soul of man that (
** the [Jew first], and also to the Gentile." To the J( to the Jew especially and principally ; he had a precede! and hght, and so let him have in punishment. So J
*' To him that knoweth to do good, and doth it not, to hi i. e. Sin with a witness, horrid sin, that surpasses the ( ■wicked. So Luke xii. 47. " And that servant that knc
*' will, and prepared not himself, neither did according
*' shall be beaten with many stripes." Which is a plaii the custom of the Jews in punishing an offender, who be ed, the judge was to see him bound fast to a pillar, his c
oft", and an executioner with a scourge to beat him wi stripes : but now those stripes came but from the arm oi these that the text speaks of are set on by the onmipc God. Of the former there was a determinate number
their law, as forty stripes ; and sometimes they would i that number too, in mercy to the offender, as you see in 1
of Paul, 2 Cor. xi. 24. " Of the Jews I received forty i
" one ;"" but in hell no mitigation at all, nor allay of m arm of his power supports the creature in its being ; wl of his justice lays on eternally. Soul, consider these thin: not persist any longer then in such a desperate way of sini the clear conviction of thine own conscience, which in th needs give testimony against thee.
Well then, go to God with the words of David, Ps
14. and say unto him, " I will pay thee my vows wh *' have uttered, and my tongue hath spoken when I was Pay it, soul, and pay it speedily unto God, else he wl by justice, and fetch it out of Ithy bones in hell. O tri longer with God, and that in such serious matters as th
And now I have done my endeavour to give your fort and promises a resurrection in your consciences. O that sit down and pause a while upon these things, and then i the past mercies of your lives, and on what hath passed b and your souls in your former straits and troubles ? Lc
I k H I ^
THE seaman's catechism.
'•' sccl be the Lord God of Isnu^l, winch sent thee this day to r
-' me ; and blessed be thy advice.'"
CAUTION' V. HE fifth and last danger I shall warn you of, is your conte and slighting of death. Ah ! how little a matter do many of ^ at least in words, make of it? It seems you have light reverei fear of this king of terrors, not only that you speak slightly c but also because vou make no more preparations for it, and ari more sensible of your preservations and deliverances from it. Inc the heathen philosophers did many of them profess a contemp death upon the account of wisdom and fortitude : and they wer€ counted the bravest men that most despised and slighted it : ] alas, poor souls ! they saw not their enemv against whom they fou but skirmished with their eyes shut ; they saw indeed its pale 1 but not its sting and dart. There is also a lawful contempt of de We freely grant that in two cases a believer may contemn it. F When it is propounded to them a temptation on purpose to s them from Christ and duty, then they should slight it; as Rev.
11. " They loved not their lives unto the death."" Secondly, W the natural evil of death is set in competition with the enjoymen God in glory, then a believer should despise it, as Christ is sai do, Heb. xii. 2. though his was a shameful death. But upor other accounts and considerations, it is the height of stupidity security to despise it.
Now, to the end that you might have right thoughts and ap hensions of death, which may put you upon serious preparation it; and that whenever your turn comes to conflict with this kin
terrors, under vi."hose hand the Pompeys, Caesars, and Alexander the world, who have been the teiTors of nations, have bowed di themselves ; I say, that when your turn and time comes, as the I. only knows how soon it may be, you may escape the stroke o dart and sting, and taste no other bitterness in death, than the ni ral evil of it : To this end I have drawn the following questions answer?, which, if you please, maybe called The Seaman s Catech. And, oh ! that you might not dare to launch forth into the de until you have seriously interrogated and examined your hearts u those particulars. Oh ! that you would resolve, before you go fo to withdraw yourselves a while from all clamours and distracti and calmly and seriously catechise your ownselves in this mann«
Quest. 1. What may the issue of this voyage be.^ Ansra. Death, Prov. xxvii. 1. " Boast not thyself of to-mori
i I I } I i
^^^ YiiE seaman's catechism.
Quest. 2. What is death ?
Answ. Death is a separation of soul and body until
lion, 2 Cor. v. 1. " We know that if our earthly house " nacle be dissolved." Job xiv. 10, 11, 12. Read the
Quest S. Is death to be despised and slighted if if Answ. O no ! it is one of the most weighty and serioi ever a creature went about : so dreadful dolh it appear the fear of it subjects them to bondage all their hves, " And to deliver them who, through fear of death, \ " life-time subject to bondage." And in scripture it i; king ofterrors, Job xviii. 14. Or the black prince, ai late. Never had any prince such a title before. To been so terrible, that none might mention its nanie bef
Quest. 4. WHiat makes it so terrible and affrighting Answ. Several things concur to make it terrible to men; as, Jirst, Its harbingers and antecedents, whicl pains, conflicts, and agonies. Secondly, Its office and m about, which is to transfer us into the other world.
vi. 8. it is set forth by a pale horse : an horse for its l to carry you away from hence into the upper, or low eternity ; and a pale horse, for its ghastliness and terro But above all, it is terrible in regard of its consequer the door of eternity, the parting point betwixt the prese that to come ; the utmost line and boundary of all tern Hence, Heb. ix. 27. " It is appointed unto men once
•' after this the judgment." Rev. vi. 8. " And I lool " hold, a pale horse, and his name that sat on him was " hell followed him." Ah ! it makes a sudden and sti
lion upon men's conditions, to be plucked out of hous among friends and honours, and so many delights, and moment into the land of darkness, to be clothed with drink the pure wrath of the Almighty for ever. Th makes it terrible.
Quest. 5. If death be so weighty a matter, am I prep Answ. I doubt not ; I am afraid I want many things Cessary to a due preparation for it.
Quest. 6. What are those things wherein a due pre death consisteth ?
Answ. Many things are necessary. First, Special and s with Jesus Christ. This is that which disarms it of its
*' death, where is thy sting.? Thanks be to God who hati
I I I I »
THE SEAMEN S CATECHISM.
tleath comfortably, the evidence and knowledge of this union is
cessary, 2 Cor. v. 1. " For [we know,] that if our earthly houi
*' this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God," And then he cannot only be content, but groan to be unclothed, 2. A mistake in the former will cost me my soul ; and a mis here will lose me my peace and comfort. Thirdly, In order to evidence it is necessary that I keep a good conscience in all th
both towards God and man, 2 Cor. i. 12. " This is our rejoi< " even the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and g " sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom, but by the gi'ace of Grod, we i
" had our conversation in the world."' This good conscience pects all and every part of our work and duty to be done, and all every sin to be renounced and denied : so that he that is early ur
unto Christ by faith, hath the clear evidence of that union; anc evidence fairly gathered from the testimony of a good conscit witnessing his faithfulness, as to all duties to be done, and sins t avoided, he is fit to die ; death can do him no harm ; but, s these things are not to be found in me.
Quest. 7. But what if I die without such a preparation as thi What will the consequence of that be .''
AnsK'. Very terrible, even the separation of my soul and I from the Lord to all eternity ; John iii. 36. " He that believet
" the Son hath everlasting life : and he that believeth not the i
'•' shall not see hfe ; but the wrath of God abideth on him." shall not see life ; there is the privative part of his miser}-, separs from the blessed God. And the [zcrath,] mark it, not anger, wrath, not the wrath of man, but of [God,] at whose rebukes mountains skip like frighted men, and the hills tremble : the w of God not only flashes out upon him, as a transient flash of lighti
but [abideth,'\ dwells, sticks fast ; there is no power in the world loose the soul from it. [Upon him,] not the body only, nor the only, but on [him,] (i. e.) the whole person, the whole man. I
is the principal positive part of that man's misery.
Quest. 8. Can I bear this misery ? Anszc. No : my heart caimot endure, nor my hands be str when God shall have to do with me upon this account. I cannot his wrath ; angels could not bear it ; it hath sunk them into
depths of misery. Those that feel but a few sparks of it in their sciences here, are even distracted by it. Psalm Ixxxviii. 15. CI himself had never borne up under it, had it not been supported h\
infinite power of the divine nature, Isa. xliii. ] . " Behold my"^
836 Tin: seama>!"'s catechism.
Quest 9. If it cannot be borne, is there any way to ] Answ. Yes, there is hope in Israel concerning this ti herein I am in better case than the damned ; I have thi
of mercy, and they have not. Oh ! what would they gi
sibihty of salvation ? Isa. i. 16, 17, 18. " Was;h ye, male " put away the evil of your doings from before mine e} " do evil, learn to do well,'' ^-c. " Come now, let ui
*■' gether : and though your sins be as scarlet, they shall Isa. Iv. 7. " Let the wicked forsake his way, and the " man his thoughts : and let him return unto the Lord, " have mercy upon him ; and to our God, for he will
" pardon." Though my disease be dangerous, it is n( it doth not scorn a remedy. Oh ! there is balm in G physician there. There is yet a possibility, not only of re primitive glory, but to be set in a better case than ever
Quest. 10. How may that be.'* Ansic. By going to the Lord Jesus Christ, Ilom. viii *' is therefore now no condemnation to them that are ii
" sus.*' Rom. viii. 33, 34. " Who shall lay any t *' charge of God's elect ? It is God that justifieth, Wl " conderaneth "i It is Christ that died, yea, rather, t " again."
Quest. 11. But what is it to go to Christ.'* Answ. To go to Christ, is to * embrace him in his-f ] offices, and to rest § entirely and closely upon him for || p;
and ** eternal life : being deeply -)-fsensible of the wan of him. John i. 12. " To as many as [received] hi
" power to become the sons of God, even to as many " on his name." John iii. 36. " He that believeth [ " hath life." 1 Cor. i. 30. " And of him are ye in C " who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, s
*' and redemption." Acts iv. 12. " Neither is there " any other," ^-c. Acts xiii. 39- " And by him all tha
" [justified from all things,] from which ye could not be " the law of Moses." Isa. xlv. 22. " Look unto me
" saved." Acts ii. 37. " Now when they heard thii " pricked to the heart," ^-c.
Quest. 12. But will Christ receive me, if I go to him Anszi). Yes, yes ; he is more ready to receive thee, tl
to come to him; Luke xv. 20. " And he arose, and cai
*' ther : but, when he was vet a great way off, his fath
I I t IX « •
THE SEAMAN S CATECHISM.
lieck, and kissed him. He bespeaks him, much after that ra
expressed himself to returning Ephraim : " My bowels are troi
*• for him ; I will surelv have mercy on him," Jer. xxxi. 20. 1 is not the least parenthesis in all the pages of free-grace, to ex a soul that is sincerely wiling to come to Christ.
Quest. 13. But how may it appear that he is willing to n mef
Answ. IMake trial of him thyself. If thou didst but know his
to poor sinners, you would not question it. Believe what he
in the gospel ; there thou shah find that he is a willing Sa\'ioui therein thou hast, first, his most serious invitations, Mat x
*" Come unto me, ye that are weary and heavyladen.'' Isa. " Ho ! every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters." The: rious invitations are, secondly, backed and confirmed with an
JKzek. XXXV. 11. "As I live, I desire not the death of a sir
Thirdly, Amplified \rith pathetical wishes, sighs and groans, . xix. 42. " Oh ! that thou hadst known, even thou, at least, w
*• thy day." Fourthly, Yea, delivered unto them in undisset tears, ^lat. xxiii. 37, 38. " He wept over it, and said, O Jerusi
*' Jerusalem !" Fifthly, Nay, he hath shed not only tears, blood, to convince tliee of his willingness. View him in his < posture upon the cross, stretching out his dying arms to gather hanging down his blessed head to kiss thee; every one of his w( was a mouth opened to convince thee of the abundant wiUingn
Christ to receive thee.
Quest. 14. But my sins are dyed in grain : I am a sinner o blackest hue : will he receive and pardon such an one ?
AnsTC. Yea, soul, if thou be \riliing to commit thyself to him
i. 18. " Come now, let us reason together ; though your sins
*' scarlet, I will make them as snow ; though they be red like " son, I will make them as wool."
Quest. 15. This is comfortable news ; but may I not delay m^ ing with him for a Avhile, and yet not hazard my eternal happ seeing I resolve to come to him at last ?
Answ. No ; there must be no delays in this case : Psal. cxi^
" I made haste, and delayed not to keep tliy commandments.' Quest. 16. Why may I not defer it, at least for a little whil Allele. For many weighty reasons this work can bear no d First, The offers of grace are made to the present time, Heb. i;
*' Whilst it is said to-day, harden not your hearts," There m; a few more davs of God's patience, but that is unknown to thee
THK SiiAMEN S CATECHlSikr.
are the more strengthened, and the heart still more ha There be thousands now in hell, that perished through d consciences often urged and pressed hard upon them, resolutions they had, as thou hast now; but they were nev by answerable executions, and so they perished. 6. Thy ning now is desperate ; for every moment thou art act clear light and conviction ; and that is a dreadful way of
There can be no solid reason for one hour's delay ; fo: not be happy too soon ; and be sure of it, if ever thou c( of the sweetness of a Christian life, nothing will more grieve thee than this, that thou enjoyedst it no sooner.
Quest. 17. Oh, but the pleasures of sin engage me shall I break these cords and snares ?
Answ. That snare may be broken by considering sol five things. 1. That to take pleasure in sin, is an ar^ most deplorable and wretched state of soul. What nature doth it argue in a toad, that is sucking in nothing and filth where-ever it crawls ! O what an heart hast thou nothing to find pleasure in but that which makes 1
Christ sad, and the hearts of saints ake and groan, w
hell, and let in endless miseries upon the world .'' 2. Th misery it involves thee in is infinitely beyond the deligl thee by : it doth but delight the sensual part, and that brutish pleasure, but will torment thy immortal soul, ever. The pleasure will quickly go off, but the sting behind. " I tasted but a little honey on the top of m " Jonathan) and I must die," 1 Sam. xiv. 43. 3. Nay, tl] but the Lord proportions wrath according to the plei have had in sin, Rev. xviii. 7. " How much she hath lived
*' so much torment and sorrow give unto her." 4. Whi pay, or at least pawn for this pleasure .'* Thy soul, thy j is laid to stake for it ; and, in effect, thus thou sayes deferrest the closing with Christ upon the account of e pleasures of sin a little longer : Here, devil, take my s possession and power : if I repent, I will have it again
thine for ever. O dear-bought pleasures !
What is the world ? A great exchange of ware, Wherein all sorts and sexes cheapning are ; The flesh the devil sit and cry — what lack ye ? When most they fawn, they most intend to rack y
The wares are cups of joy and beds of pleasure ;
THE SEAMAN S CATECHISif.
, La^tli/, It is thy gross mistake to think thou shalt be bereave || all dehghts and pleasures by coming under the governmen ' Christ : for one of those things in which his kingdom consists, is
in the Holv Ghost, Rom. xiv. 17. Indeed it allows no sinful p sures to the subjects of it, nor do they need it ; but from the thou closest in with Christ, all thy pure, real, and eternal pleasi and delights begin to bear date. When the prodigal was retur to his father, then, saith the text, " They began to be mer Luke XV. 24. See Acts viii. 5, 6. No, soul, thou shalt want
joy, for the scripture saith, " They shall be abundantly satis " vrith the fatness of thv house, and thou shalt make them drinl
*' the river of thv pleasures ; for with thee is the fountain of li &c. Psal. xxxvi. 8, 9.
Qmsf. 18. But how shall I be able to undergo the severitie
religion .'' There are difficult duties to be done, and an heavy ci to be taken up ; these be the things that daunt me.
AusK\ If pain and suffering daunt thee, how is it thou art more out of love with sin than with religion ? For it is most cert; that the sufferings for Christ are nothing to hell, the just reward i certain issue of sin ; the pains of mortification are nothing to the p: of damnation : there is no compainson betwixt suffering for Chi
and suffering from Christ ; ^Nfatth. v. 29. " If thy right hand or *' offend thee, cut it off, and pluck it out; it is profitable for t *' that one member suffer, than that the whole body be cast into he Secondly, Thou seest the worst, but not the best of Christ. Tli be joys and comforts in those difficult duties and sufferings, that tl
seest not; Col. i. 24. " Who now rejoice in my sufferings."' Jj i. 2, " My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temj
" tions," Src. Thirdlv, Great shall be thy assistance from Chr Phil. iv. 13. "I can do all thinors throuorh him that strenorthens i
" The Spirit helps our infirmities," takes the other end of the b den, Rom. viii. 26. What meanest thou to stand upon such ten when it is heaven or hell, eternal life or death that lie before th<
Quest. 19. But to what purpose will my endeavours to come Christ be, unless I be elected ? All will be to no purpose.
Aruzc. True; If thou be not elected, thou canst not obtain hi
or happiness by him : but vet that is no discouragement to stri\ for in thy unconverted state, thv election or non-election is a sec to thee : the only way to make it sure is by striving and giving diligence in the way of duty, 2 Pet. i. 10. And if you ponder i text well, you will find, that election is not only made sure in the w
340 THE SEAMAn''s catechism.
Answ. First, Certainly you are most absurd in plead tending your impotence against your duty ; for you d
have a power to come to Christ, else how do you quiet ence with promises and resolves of conversion hereafter
Though it be true, that no saving act can be done with currence of special grace ; yet this is as true, that thy ir what is above thy power, doth not excuse thee from doii thy power to do. Canst thou not forbear, at least, many of sin? And canst thou not perform, at least, the external Oh ! if thou canst not come to Christ, yet, as the blin( the way of Christ : do what thou canst do, and confes thy impotency, that thou canst do no more. Canst t thy soul aside in secret, and thus bemoan it ; my pool wilt thou do.? O what will become of thee, thou art chi
nantless, hopeless, and, which is most sad, senseless an oh ! thou canst not bear the infinite wrath of the eternaj Almighty power Avill be set on work to torment such and yet thou takcst no course to prevent it ! Thou s( diligence of all others, and how the kingdom of heavei lence by them : and art not thou as deeply engaged t( own happiness as any in the world ? Will hell be mon
thee than others .'' O what a composition of stupidity i thou : Thou livest after such a rate, as if there were r hell to torment thee, nor glory in heaven to reward tl and Christ, heaven and hell, were but dreams and fables, not be less affected with them. Ah, my soul ! my sou ous soul ! Is it easy to perish ? Wilt thou die as a fc that men would but do this if they can do no more !
And now, soul, you see what death that is you have ] of; and what is the only v»^ay that we poor sons of d escape its sting. You have here seen the vanity of s and pretences against conversion, and the way to Christ cast up for you. Now sirs, I beg you, in the name of G you, and as if I made this request upon my bended \ that you Avill noAv, without any more delays, yield you Lord. Soul, I beseech thee, haste thee into thy cham door, and bespeak the Lord after some such manner ;
thou darcst to launch out into the deeps again.
O dreadful and glorious Majesty ! thou hast bowels well as beams of glory : 1 have heard the sounding of for me this day. Lord, I have now heard a represei 1 T 1
TUE SEAMAN 3 CATECHISif.
Lord, I have now heard of the Prince of life also, in whose bleec side death hath left and lost its envenomed sting; so that thoug may kill, vet it cannot hurt any of his members. To this glori Redeemer I have now been invited ; all my pretences against i have been confuted, and my soul, in his name, assured of welco if I come unto him, and cast myself upon him. And now, L< I come, I come, upon thy call and invitation ; I am unfeignedly ling to avouch thee this day to be my God, and to take thee for portion. Lord Jesus ! I come unto thee ; thy clay, thy creal moves tov.ards the Fountain of pity : look hitherto, behold a sj
tacle of misery'. Bowels of mercy, hear ! behold my naked soul, a rag of righteousness to cover it ; behold my starving soul, not a
of bread for it to eat : ah .' it has fed upon wind and vanity hitl to. Behold my wounded soul bleeding at thy foot ; every part, h and heart, will and affections, all wounded by sin. O thou comj sionate Samaritan ! turn aside, and pour thy sovereign blood into t\ bleeding wounds, which, like so many opened mouths, plead for p Behold a returning, submitting rebel, willing to lav down the weap of unrighteousness, and to come upon the knee for a pardon. 01 am weary of the service of sin, I can endure it no longer ! Lord sus, thou wast anointed to preach glad tidings to the meek, anc proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison them that are bound ; come now, and knock off those fetters of behef: O set my suul at liberty that it may praise thee ! For so m; years Satan hath cruelly tyrannized over me. O that this might the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of the salvation of God ! Lord, thou wast lifted up to draw men unto thee ; and ind thou art a drawing Saviour, a lovely Jesus ! I have Iiitherto slio-h 1-1- •• • ^ thee, but it was because I did not know thee : mine eves have b
held by unbelief, when thou wast opened in the gospel ; but no^ see thee as the chiefest of ten thousands. Thou art the glorv heaven, the glory of earth, the glory of Sion ; and, oh ! that tl
wouldst be the glory of my soul ! I confess I am not worthy tl shouldst look upon me; I may much rather expect to be tramp under the feet of justice, than to be embraced in thine arms of u cy : and that thou shouldst rather shed my }X)lluted blood, tl sprinkle thine own upon me. But, Lord, what profit is there in blood ? Wilt thou pursue a dried leaf; Shall it ever be said that merciful King of heaven hanged up a poor soul that put the r( about his own neck, and so came self-condemn ingly to him for u cy ! O, my Lord, I am willing to submit to any termsj be thev ne
S42 THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY.
of thy glory. Let IwUness to the Lord be now writtei all, let my tongue henceforth plead for thee, my hands unto thy testimonies, my feet walk in thy ways : O let tions, as willing servants, wait upon thee, and be acti Whatever I am, let me be for thee; whatever I ha^^ thine ; whatever I can do, let me do for thee ; whatevt fer, let me suffer for thee. O that I might say, before my beloved is mine, and I am his ! O that what I hav earth might be ratified in heaven ! my spirit within me, ! Lord Jesus, say thou. Amen.
THE SEAMANS COMPANION
Wherein the Mysteries of Providence, relating to S
opened ; their Sins and Dangers discovered ; their Di and their several Troubles and Burdens relieved.
In six practicable and suitable Sermons.
— •^'iia,<*f-sai^- —
To all Masters, Marinej-s, and Seamen ; especially sw
to the Port of Dartmouth, and the Parts adjac Sirs,
X OUR ready acceptation of my former labours for y couraged this second and last endeavour of mine this ' you. I have for many years been convinced of the g need you have of the following discourses : But the i quickened me to their publication at this time, were esp two:
First, The hand of the Lord hath gone forth with t( you ; this winter many of your companions are gone bottom. Such a doleful account of shipwrecks from and such sad lamentations as have been heard in almost
time town, cannot but deeply affect every heart with compassion, and hath engaged me in this service for that is left.
Secondly, The seasonable and prudent care his Maj
TITK EPrSTLE DEDlCATORr.
of your employments, and faithfully discovers the temptations dangers attending you in thena all. Upon which consideration
fitly entitled, The Scaniaii's Companion. As God hath cast my lot among you, so he hath inclined my h studiously to promote your welfare. I have been, by long observat convinced, that one principal cause of your miscarriages, is the gleet of God in your outsets. Did you pray more, you might ex to prosper better. Indeed, if that Epicurean doctrine were true, Gtxi concerns not himself about the affairs of this lower world,
leaves all things to be swayed by the power of natural causes, } neglect of prayer might be more excusable : But, whilst succe and disappointments depend upon his pleasure, it cannot but be most direct course you can steer to ruin all, to forget and neglect ( in your enterprizes. To cure this evil, and prevent the mani mischiefs that follow it, the first sermon is designed. And if Lord shall bless it to your conviction and reformation, I may t comfortably apply the words of !Moses to you, Deut. xxxiii.
" Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out.^ You often hear the terrible voice of God in the storms ; and ar
your wit"'s end, not knowing what course to take, nor which way to t for safety and comfort : And yet how soon are all those impress! worn off? and those mercies which (whilst new) were so affecting, a a few days become stale and common. I have, therefore, in the sec sermon, laboured not only to direct and support you in those stn but have also endeavoured to fix the sense of those providences u your hearts, and instruct you how to make due improvement*
them, by answering tlie several aims and designs of them.
It hath been much upon my heart, to what and how many tei tations to sin you are exposed in foreign countries, where lawful medies are absent, alluring objects present, and temptations exce ingly strengthened upon you, by hopes of secresy and concealme And, indeed, for a man whose heart is not thoroughly seasoned w religion, and awed by the fear of God, to converse in such places, s with such company, ,and not be polluted with their sins, is, upon matter, as great a miracle, as for the three children to come out of fiery furnace without an hair singed, or the smell of fire upon xk garments. I have therefore prepared for you the best preservat from these temptations in the third sermon, which the Lord uii an effectual antidote to your souls against the corruptions that in the world through lust.
T havf^ frpniipntlv nli<;;prvpfl flip mic/^Tiip-rniiis infliipnrp that suf^r
344 THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY.
and drops many very seasonable and necessary cautions to keep you humble and thankful under prosperity.
And because men will not own God in their success, I to their own net ; God often teaches them the evil of it, b and disappointments: Yea, disappointments sometimes fol of men, and that in the most just and honest em ploy ii caution the former sort, and support the latter in such i commend theji/lh sermon to your serious consideration, ing, if the blessing of God go forth with it, but it may j seasonable and useful discourse to you in that condition
And, lastly, because it is so common for seamen to forg mercies they have received in a voyage, when it is over, ar brought them to the havens of desire, and among their have, in the last sermon, instructed them in their duty, a
to work in such a sense of mercies upon their hearts, as them to a due and thankful acknowledgment of God in
You see, by this brief account, how honest the desigr I have engaged for you. But I am sensible, that the ma very defective, it being dispatched in haste, and when m} filled with other work, and my body clogged with manj But, such as it is, I heartily devote it to the special ser souls, and remain
You7's, in all Christian service.
JOHN r Dartmouth, Jan. 21, 1675.
SEAMAN'S FAREWELL