Part 14
Nay, my friends, it should do more than restrain you i acts of sin ; it should powerfully curb the very thou^ motions of sin in your hearts. That was the use hoi) this truth. Job xxxi. 1. " I have made a covenant wi
why then should I think upon a maid ? Doth h(
ways, and count all my steps ?" Suppose you should carry your wickedness so close earth should know it ; yet the Lord sees it, and will judgmeilt, and your own conscience is privy to it. I ] me, is it not a great comfort to a malefactor, that he a so closely, that none but the judge, and one authentic
(whose testimony is as good as a thousand) beheld it ? the case of all secret sinners. But, to press home 1 necessary truth more particularly, I beseech you to C(
1. God doth not only behold you, but beholds you tion and abhorrence in your ways of iniquity : It is a sig him to the heart. Gen. vi. 5, 6. " And the Lord sa
" ness of man was great on the earth, and that every
the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually
IN FOREIGN eOUNTRIES. 3 to see your sinful hearts and courses. Nothing can be so contrs to the pure and holy nature of God as this is : this made the p phet admire how his patience could endure such a sight, Heb. i. *' Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not Ic " upon iniquity ; -wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal tr " cherously ?"' &c. As if he should say, Lord, how canst thou hold thyself affronted by vile creatures, and hold thy hands fr avenging it ? O the stupendous patience of God i
2. It doth not onlv grieve him to the heart, but it puts his patiei to the greatest trial and exercise in beholding it : therefore he is s
" to endure with much long-suffering," Rom. ix. 22. It doth, it were, create a conflict betwixt his patience and justice: he is provoked by your sin, that he expresses it as a difficulty to bear Amos ii. 13. " I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed tha
" full of sheaves :"' burdened till the axle-tree of infinite patience readv to crack under the weight.
Nay, Thirdly/, He doth not only see your evils, but he regisl and records them, in order to a day of reckoning with you for together, except ye repent ; Deut. xxxii. 34. " Is not this laid
" in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures ?"" A rrn phor taken from the clerk of the assize, who seals up the bag indictments against the time of trial. You think if you can bl the eves of men, all is well, vou shall hear no more of it : ah ! 1 it is sealed up among God^s treasures; i. e. the things he reco and reserves for the day of account.
4. God doth not only see you, but he will also one day make 3 see yourselves and vour ways, and that with horror and conster tion. You think vou shall taste nothing but the sweet and pleasi of sin ; but how are you deceived .'' The days are coming when < that is now pleasant, shall be turned into wormwood and gall. \ will not see the evil of it ; and because you see it not, you think G doth not. " These things (saith God) hast ihou done, and I k
" silence, and thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an om " thyself; but I will reprove thee, and set them in order bef " thine eyes,'" Psal. 1. 21. God sees them now, and he will m; you see them too, by opening your eyes in this world graciously, in that to come judiciall}'.
5. God doth not only see vour ways, but he will make all world see them too : For, " there is nothing hid that shall not " revealed, nor covered, that shall not be made known," Matth, 26. " There is a day when God will make manifest the hide
THE seaman's PHESERVATIVE can hide you from the eye of God. He sees all your ^ sees them with abhorrence; the sight of them is the g cise of his patience. His sight of them is not a transier he sees and records your evils; they are sealed up am sures : He sees, and will make you see them too with ] he shall set them in order before you : he sees them, a angels and men see them in the great day. O then, cresy any more encourage you to sin !
2. Inference. What prodigious sinners must they be, covert from their sin in darkness, but with an impudent yea, glory m their shame; who are not ashamed to sin a bare face, and a whore's forehead .? These are sinnei magnitude. "They declare their sin as Sodom, and Isa. m. 9. It is as natural to man to endeavour to hi( Adam, and you see from the text, guilty sinners fain were possible, fly to any obscure corner from the observ, and men; and it is a mercy God hath planted such an shame is, in the soul of man, to be a bridle to restrain hi lusts. But yet there is a generation of monstrous sinne so far unmanned themselves, « That they are not at
when they commit abominations, neither can they VI. 15. If there be any remains of shame left in theui cise it upon a wrong object : they are ashamed of that ^ be to their glory, and glory in that which is their shami impudence to their sin, and blush not to proclaim that \ study to conceal.
Such a vile temper as this shews a man even ripe foi hath even filled up his measure, and is come to the very point and top of wickedness. There be some men arrlv, degree of holiness, that all that converse with them judg. ripe for heaven : they speak the dialect, and have the of heaven upon them. Others are come to such a prodif of impiety, that understanding men cannot but conclul nigh unto damnation ; they speak the very languao-e, ai very scent of hell upon them. Such are they that opt their sm as Scdom, and glory in their shame.
Thus we see some drunkards will glory in their strent down wine and strong drink, and can boast of the num' cups : some adulterers can glory in their acts of wickedn( fering themselves to damn their own souls, but labourii and corrupt as many as they can by their filthy tono-ues
IN FOUEIGX COITKTniES. 5
S. Inference. If tlie eye of God searches every obscure comer the world, to behold the evil that is committed there, then certair the eye of God cannot but look into every secret place in the woi to see the good that is done there. " The eyes of the Lord are
even,- place, beholding the evil and the good," Prov. xv. 3. T good as well as the evil ; yea, he beholds with dehght the good dc in secret.
As some sinners seek corners to act their wickedness in, and cam satisfy themselves to commit sin in the light, (for, as our Savic saith,' John iii. 20. « He that doth evil hateth the light ;") so, on 1 contrary, a truly godly man seeks comers to pray in, to meditate and to examine his own heart in, and thinks these duties of goc ness can never be managed with too great a privacy ; not that he in the least ashamed of his duty; no, that is not the reason, but is afraid of hypocrisv, when duties lie too open, and exposed to 1 eyes of men. A sinner takes his full liberty to vent his corruptic when he can do it in secret ; and a saint takes his full liberty to V{ and exercise his graces, when no eye but the eye of God sees hi " Thou, when thou prayest (saith our Saviour) enter into thy clo " and shut thv door, and pray to thy Father which is in secret, a
thv Father (which seeth in secret) shall reward thee openly." how much better is it, both as to your present comfort and futi account, to get into a comer to pray, than to whore and drin To pour out your souls to God graciously, than to pour out yc lusts against God so \*-ickedly ? How contrary are the principles grace and corruption ? The studv of sinners is to hide their evils fr( the eyes of men : the study of a saint is to hide his duties from 1 eyes of men : The sinner would not have the world suspect what hath been about ; nor would the saint have all the world know wl he hath been about. The way of an adulterer is as the " way of
" eagle in the air, or as a serpent upon a rock ;" i. e. a secret w; where they leave no prints or tracts behind them. " So is the ^v
" of an adulterous woman; she eateth and wipeth her mouth, a
" saith, I have done no wickedness," Prov. xxx. 19, 20. By wipi the mouth is there meant preventing all suspicion ; suffering no si of the action to remain upon them : So, contrarily, a gracious pen that hath been with God in secret prayer, or fasting, when his di is ended, he labours to avoid all ostentations. And therefore y have the caution from Christ, Matth. vi. 17, 18. " But thou, wl
" thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face ! that thou app *' not unto nipn tn fast-, hut iintrt tViv fiitViAr uliir-Vi is: in sprrpf " T
882 THE seaman's PllESEUVATIVE prudent and humble concealment. * « Religion dot!
open, as we say :" As sinners have their secret pleasure; waters which are sweet to them ; so the saints have th hghts in God, their hidden rnanna^ which no man knov eateth of it. And as the eye of God vindictively beh so It delightfully beholds the other ; and so you find it, " O my dove, (saith Christ to the church) that art in " the rocks, in the secret places of the stairs : Let me s " tenance, let me hear thy voice ; for sweet is thy v^ " countenance comely." Let this encourage you to si let not others find more pleasure in secret lusts, than y God and secret duties.
4. Infere7ice. Doth the eye of God see all the evil am that is committed in all the secret corners of the world ! rable then is the patience of God towards the world ! V gine how much wickedness is secretly practised in a town day .? Or if all the villanies that are perpetrated in a sm rence in one day were known to us, we should admire tl not make us like Sodom, for judgment and desolatio next day. What then are the innumerable swarms of si as the sands upon the sea-shore, from ail the parts and c earth ! Alas, there is not the ten thousandth part of the of wickednesses committed in the world, that ever come or ear ; and if it did, we cannot estimate the evil of sin, a nor feel with that resentment the burden of it, as he dc the long-suffering God forbears it with infinite patience, power was not more discovered in making the world, forbearing to destroy it again for the wickedness that is the world stands for the church's sake that is in it. " " not that the Lord of hosts had left us a small remn; " been as Sodom, we had been like unto Gomorrha," Isa. is also an elect remnant to be called and gathered by th of it in their several generations : and when that number conriplished, God will set fire to the four quarters of it, lie in white ashes ; till then the long-suffering of God v
5. Inference. If God sees all the secret wickedness mitted in every corner of the world; how clear is it th{ judgment to come, and that this judgment will be exad
That there is a judgment to come, is by this manifes that there is abundance of sin committed in the world, y comes to liffht here, nor never will in this wnrlf^ Tt i«
IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. l as it were, in their foreheads, every one sees them ; but others i low after, are not discovered till the day of the revelation of secrets of all hearts, and then that which is now done in closets si be proclaimed as upon house-tops : Though they were never pul shame for their sins, in the places where they committed them, God will shame them before men and angels. This is the day judge secrets, 1 Cor. iv. 5.
And, as it is certain there will be such a judgment, so it is CcTt this judgment will be exact ; for the judge of all hath seen t Whatever he charges any man with, hath been acted before his fa
Psal. xc. 8. " Thou settest our secret sins in the light of thy coi " tenance." Here can be no mistake, the omnipotent God i judge for what he hath seen; " For his eyes are upon the wavj
man, and he seeth all his goings, for he will not lay upon n " more than right, that he should enter into judgment with Go The meaning is, he cannot mistake in his judgment being omniscie and having seen all the ways of man ; so that there can be no p offered by any man for the reverse of his sentence.
O then let us be exact and careful, as well in our secret as in < public actions ; for God shall bring every work in judgment, w every secret tiling, whether it be good, or whether it be evil, E< xii. ult.
6. Inference. Lastly, if the eye of God be in every place upon and all our actions ; then let those whose condition of life hath S( them out of the eyes and observations of their parents and mast keep the sense of God's eye upon their hearts, as ever they woi escape sin and ruin.
It is no small advantage to young unprincipled persons, to 1 under the discipline of pious ana careful governors ; buttit often ft out, that they are early transplanted into another soil, sent ii foreign countries in order to their education or employment ; and often are there corrupted and debauched by the evil examples of i places where they reside; they learn another language, or dr another trade than what their parents or masters designed them f
But if the, sense of this great truth might accompany them where-e they are, O what a sovereign antidote might it prove against th deadly poisons of temptations I This alone would be a suffieient p servative. If our children and servants have but the awful sens*
God's eye upon them, we may turn them loose into the wide wo without fear.
[ If Providence shall dirppt thUfJispmircA tr» vr«iir Imnrlo niTT Viaa<
S84 THE seaman's pkeservative, &c.
Firsts The infecting, catching nature of sin. No ph infectious and insinuating than sin is. Many are the w stratagems, and baits, Satan lays to draw you into sin,
The proneness that is in your own nature the offers and temptations that you are tried with ; it : wonder if you escape, as that one that Hves in a pest4 remain healthy ; or that dry tinder should not catch, wht of sparks fly about, and light upon it. Or,
Thirdly, The absence of all those means by which you ly been preserved from sin. You are now without the c God, the family duties, the admonitions, counsels, exi observations of your pai'ents, masters, and friends : All been of great use to keep you from sin, and repress th youth. Or, Lastly,
The manifold furtherance or temptations wh afford; Childhood and youth are vanity. Inconsideraten^ injudiciousness, and the want of experience, do all cast very snare. See how the Holy Ghost hath signified tl persons at your age, in Prov. vii. 7.
All these things do greatly endanger you. And if a them together, prevail to the vitiating and corrupting o what a train of sad consequences will follow upon it ! 1
1. The great God will be dishonoured and reproached I that God whose distinguishing mercies are now before yo should be admired by you ; that caused you to spring u] soil, and not from idolaters in a land of darkness.
2. Conscience will be wounded and polluted with though, at present, you feel not the remorse and gnawir now you are preparing for it. The sins of youth are cor sorrows of old age. Job xiii. 26.
3. The hearts of your friends, if godly, will be grieved troubled to find their expectations and hopes disappoint those prayers for you, and counsels bestowed on you nothing. If an unequal match by Esau was such a g to Isaac and Rebecca, what will profaneness and unclea your parents ? Gen. xxvi. 34.
4. The servicea])leness and comfort of your whole life probability, be destroyed by the corruption of your you soms be withered, and buds nipt, what fruit can be ex] conclude,
THE SUCCSSSF1TL SEAMAN. SI ration of this point you have now been reading. For if God shall i that truth in your hearts by faith, then,
Firsts Instead of running with others into the same excess of ri( vou will keep yourselves pure and unspotted in an unclean defili world. You will answer all temptations to sin, as Joseph did, G< xxxix. 9. " How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God
Instead of joining with others in sin, you will mou for the sins of others. You will say with David, Psal. cxx. 5. " W *' is me, that I sojourn in Meshec, that I dwell in the tents of E
" dar ["^ Your soul, like Lot's, will be vexed from day to day wi the filthy conversations of the wicked, 2 Pet. i. IT, 18.
Thirdly, Instead of returning to your country with a wound name and conscience, you vnW return full of inward comfort ai peace, and to the joy of all your friends and relations.
Fourthly, To conclude, You will give fair encouragements to t expectations of all that know you, of becoming useful instruments the glory of God, and benefit of the world in your generation, therefore beg of God that this truth may be deeply engraven up vour hearts.
SUCCESSFUL SEAMAN.
SERMON IV IB Dect. viii. 17, 18.
And thou say in thine heart, My power, and the might of my hati hath gotten me this wealth ; but th<yu shalt revicmber the Lot God ; for he it is that giveth thee poicer to get wealth.
X HIS context contains a necessary and very seasonable caution l tlie Israelites, who were now passing out of the wilderness straits inl the rich and fruitful land of Canaan, which abounded with all earth] blessings and comforts. Now, when the Lord was about to gii them possession of this good land, he first gives them some wholeson caveats to prevent the abuse of thpsp mprrifws TTp tnpw linw n^ f586 THE SUCCESSFUL SEAMAN.
" demcss, wherein were fiery serpents and scorpions,
where there was no water :" here were their dangi *' Who brought thee forth water out of the rock of " thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathi here were their suppUes in these straits. " That he *' thee, and that he might prove thee to do thee goc " end :" here was the wise and gracious design of G* But wherein did God humble them by feeding then Were they not shrewdly humbled (saith Mr. Gurnal, an ingenious author) to be fed with such a dainty di
God for its cook, and was called angels food for its d( not the meanness of the fare, but the manner of havir
God intended to humble them. The food was excel had it from hand to mouth ; so that God kept the ke board, they stood to his immediate allowance ; this wa way. But now the dispensation of Providence was change ; they were going to a land, " where they sh " without scarceness,"* verse 9. and have their comf natural, stated, and sensible way ; and now would
Therefore,
He not only reminds them of their formere state, 1 cautions them about their future estate, " Say not in
" power, or the might of my hand, hath gotten me tl In this caution we have these two things especially t
I. The false cause of their prosperity removed. II. The true and proper cause thereof asserted.
1. The false cause removed : " Not their power, c
their hand." That is said to be gotten by the ] gotten by our wisdom as well as labour : head-work, are hand-work in the sense of this text. It cannot be ( were a great people, prudent, industrious, and had an among them : but yet, though they had all these n means of enriching themselves in that fertile soil, G mean, allow them to ascribe their success and wealth causes : for alas ! what are all these without his bles
2. The true and proper cause asserted : " It is the I
thee power to get wealth ;" i. e. All thy care, h strength, signify nothing without him ; it is not youi blessing, that makes your designs to prosper: and then prosperity, still acknowledge him as the Author of al]
Doct. That the m'osveritu and success of our affai.It II 1 111
THE STTCCESSFUL SEAMAV.
The blessing of the Lord it inaketh rich.'' But these two arc really opposed to each other, but the one subordinated to the o1
The diligent hand, with God's blessing upon it, makes rich ; neither of them alone, but both conFaith must joined. A diligent hand cannot make rich withstifie indmtn/, out God's blessing ; and God's blessing doth not industry blhu ordinarilv make rich without a diligent hand, faith. And these two are put together in their proper places, 1 Chron. xxii. 16. " Up and be doing, and the Lord be
" you." It is a vain pretence for any man to say, If the Lor \vith me, I may sit still, and do nothing ; and a wicked one to If I am up and doing, I shall prosper whether God be with m not. The sluggard would fain prosper without diligence, and atheist hopes to prosper by his diligence alone : but Christians ex their prosperity from God's blessing, in the way of honest diligt It is a common thing for men to benumb their own arms, make them as dead and useless by leaning too much upon there it is in a moral as well as a natural way : all the prudence and \ in the world avail nothing without God. So saith the Psalmis
Psal. cxxvii. 2. " It is in vain for you to rise up early, to sit up ** to eat the bread of sorrow, for so he giveth his beloved sleep A man would think, he that rises betimes fares hard, works h sits up late, cannot but be a thriving man ; and probably he w be so, if God's blessing did second his diligence and frugality.
the Psalmist intends it of diligence in a separate sense ; a dili hand Avorking alone, and then it is all in vain, and serves onj confirm the common proverb — Early tip and never the nearer.
hour without God cannot prosper ; and labour against God wil only destroy itself, but the labourer too.
Now, that this is really so as the doctrine states it, I shall er vour to make evident.
L Bv a oreneral demonstration of the whole matter.
2. By a particular enumeration of the ordinary causes and m of all success, which are all dependent upon the Lord's blessin* First. That success in business is not in the power of our hand in the hand of Providence to dispose it as he pleases, and to w he pleases, ap]:)ears by this, ' That Providence sometimes blasts * frustrates the most prudent and well-laid designs of men ; ar * the mean time succeeds and prospers more weak and improl
' ones."* What is more common in the observation of all ages
THE SUCCESSFUL SEAMAX.
less judgment, and spends fewer thoughts about it, cess follows it. It shall be cast in upon some, who as t so, considering the weak management of their business, tional encouragement to expect it ; and fly from others triously pursue it in the prudent choice and diligent u proper means of attaining it. And this is not only ar grounded upon our own experience, but confirmed by men; Eccl. ix. 11. " I returned, and saw under the s
race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong: .*' bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanc
" favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth If two men run for a prize, reason gives the prize to th^ two armies join battle, reason gives the victory to the stroi men undertake a design to get wealth, reason gives the
"wisest ; yea, but Providence sometimes disposes it quit( the verdict of reason, and the prize is given to the slo\i tory to the weakest, the estate to the more shallow^ capji these events seem to fall out rather casuallv than answ( means employed about them. And who that observes th but it is the hand of God's providence, and not our d disposes the issues of these things ? For why doth God out of the ordinary way, and cross his hands, as old Is: ing the right hand upon the younger, and the left upo I mean, give success to the weak, and disappointment t but to convince us of this great truth which I here bring i
And because men are so apt to sacrifice to their own pi disown providence, therefore it sometimes makes the cas( er than so: it denies riches to the industrious, that live end but to get them, and casts them in upon those th not at all, and indeed are scarcely competent for business one of the wisest men of his age, was yet still so poor, t said, it brought a slur upon justice herself, as if she wer maintain her followers. Socrates, one of the prime G
so exceeding poor, that Apuleius could not but n ^^ povertij was become an inmate with philosophy* f whe time, the empty, shallow, and foolish, shall come up overtake it without any pains at all, which others proi most rational course all their life, and all to no purpose, noted of pope Clement V. None more 7-ich, none morefc this is the ground of that proverb, Fortuna favet fafiis . vours fools. Thoujrh the author of that proverb, in kill
TJIE SUCCESSFUL SEAM AX. { business : It being much in the attaining of riches, as the apo saith it is in the obtaining of righteousness : " The Gentiles, wh *' followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousne ** but Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath
" attained to the law of righteousness," Rom. ix. 30, 31. So i here, for the vindication of the honour of providence, which e •would scarcely own, if it did not thus baffle them sometimes: tl that follow the world cannot obtain it ; and they attain it that foL it not ; that all men may see their good is not in their own hai and lest man, who is not only a covetous creature, and would gross all to himself, but as proud as covetous, should ascribe al. himself. But this will further appear.
By a particular enumeration of the ordinary causes i means of all success in business, which are all dependent things u] a higher cause.
Now, if we proceed upon a rational account, we shall find 1 things required to the success of our affairs : and that I may sp to your capacity, I will instance in that affair of merchandizino which you are employed, as the hands that execute what the he; of your merchants contrive ; and will shew you, that neither tl: wisdom in contriving, nor your skill and industry in managing tli designs, can prosper without the leave and blessing of Divine Pre dence. Let us therefore consider what is necessary to the rais of an estate in that way of employment ; and you will find, that a rational and ordinary way, success cannot be expected, unless,
1. The designs and projects be prudently laid, and moulded w much consideration and foresight. An error here is like an erroi the first concoction, which is not to be rectified afterwards. " 1
" wisdom of the prudent (saith Solomon) is to understand his wai that is, to understand, and thoroughly to consider, the particu designs and business in which he is to cngase. Rashness and considerateness here hath been the ruin of many thousand eut prizes. And if a design be never so well laid, yet,
2. No success in business can be rationally expected, except th( be an election of proper instruments to manage it. The best laid < sign in the world may be spoiled by an ill management. If the p son employed be either incapable or unfaithful, what but troul and disappointment can be expected.^ '■' He that sendeth a messa " (saith Solomon) by the hands of a fool, cutteth off the legs, a ^ " drinketh damage." It is as if a man should send him on his bu Ifeess that had no lerrs to <70 : i. e. one that is incomoetent for the V
THE SUCCESSFUL SEAMAT>J.
" (Jeroboam) that he was a mighty man of valour, and " industrious, made him ruler over all the charge of t " Joseph," 1 Kings xi. 28. And this was the man tl kingdom from his son, even ten tribes from the housi And yet, a. Let designs be projected with the greatest pruden( mitted to the management of the fittest instrument ; a as to success, without the concurrence of health, strengtl winds, security from the hands of enemies, and perils <
If an)' of these be wanting, the design miscarries, and all fail. How often are hopeful and thriving undertakings i the failure of any one of these requisites ? " Go to n
say, to-day or to-morrow we will go into such a city, " there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain ; where
*' not what shall be on the morrow : for what is you
even a vapour that appeareth for a little while, and th
away," Jam. iv. 13, 14. How soon are the purpo hearts broken off", and their thoughts perish in one day ? to send or go to such a place, and there enrich themse turn prosperous ; but sometimes death, sometimes cap times cross winds, dash all their hopes.
4. Proper seasons must be observed, else all success an( of increase is lost. " There is (saith Solomon) a seas
" thing, and a time to every purpose under the sun," J This being taken, gives facility and speedy dispatch to and therefore he gives this reason, why man miscarries si and is disappointed in his enterprizes because he knows
Eccl. ix. 11. ' He comes (as one saith) when the bird is a wise and weighty ^proverb with the Greeks, ' That t
time in a short opportunity !' That is, a man hitting a business, may do more in a day, than losing it, he m do in a year. This is of a special consideration in all h and is the very hinge upon which success turns : So before, is to pluck apples before they are ripe ; and 1 it, is to seek them when they are fallen and perished.
5. Lastly, in getting wealth the leaks of our estates i ped ; else we do but put it into a bag with holes, as t phrase is in Hag. i. 9. If a man lose as much one w another, there can be no increase. Hence it is, that n low and poor all their days : If one design prospers, misrarries : or. if all succeed well abroad, vet there is
THE SrCCESSFUL SEA5IikS'.
Now let us particularly observe what a dependance there is u Providence in all these things ; and then it will be clear that our g is not in our hand, nor success at our beck, but it is the Lord 1 gives us power to get wealth. For,
As to tlie moulding and projecting of a design, we may say, I of the prudent merchant and ingenious seaman, what the pro| doth of the husbandman, Isa. xxviii. 10. " It is his God that
" stnicts him to discretion, and teacheth him.'" There is, indee spirit in man, " But it is the inspiration of the Almighty that gii
understanding," Job xxxii. 8. The faculty is man's, but the li of wisdom, whether natural or spiritual, is God's : and the nati faculty is of itself no more capable of directing us in our affairs, w out his teaching, than the dial is to inform us oi hours without sun's shining upon it. And because men are so dull in apprehend and backward in acknowledging it, but will lean to their own un< standings, thence it is that prudent designs are so often blasted, weaker ones succeeded.
Afld no less doth Providence manifest itself in directing to, prospering the means and instruments employed in our business: of the Lord that they prove ingenious, active and faithful servanl us ; that vour factors abroad prove not malefactors to you ; that e\ design is not ruined by the negligence, ignorance, or treachery them that manage it. If God qualify men to be fit instrument; serve you, and then providentially direct you to them, his han thankfullv to be owned in both. It was no small mercy to Abrah that he had so discreet, pious, and faithful a servant to manage e his weightest affairs so prudently and prosperously for him. Lai Pharaoh, and Jethro, never so prospered, as when Jacob, Joseph, JMoses, had tlie charge of their business. Labau ingenuously ackn ledged, " That he had learned by experience that the Lord had t
" sed him for Jacob's sake,"^ Gen. xxx. 27. A heathen you se more ingenuous in owninjj the mercv of God to him in this c than many professed Christians are, who sacrifice all to their ( net, and burn incense to their drag, i. e. idolize the means and struments of their prosperity, and see nothing of God in it.
And then as to the preservation of those that go down into the to do our business in the great waters ; who can but acknowle this to be the peculiar work of God ? Doth not daily experie shew how often poor seamen are cut off in the prosecution of our signs, sometimes by sickness, sometimes by storms, and sometimes «npmip<!. tr» wlmm tlij^v Iv^r-nnip n r>rpv ? TV tlipv psrnnp n]l tlipsp.
THE SUCCESSFUL SEAMA-S".
knowledgment ; and those that do not acknowledge pr* disoblige it.
Lastlij, Who is it that stops the leaks in your estates, wasting of your substance, and secures to you what you p not the Lord ? How many fair estates moulder away ins come to nothing ! Certainly, as there is a secret blessing i lies, so that themselves can scarce give any account how t vided for, so thei*e is a secret blast and consumption i which brings poverty upon them like an armed man.
the true sense of that scripture, Hag. i. 6. "Ye have sow
bring in little. Ye eat, but ye have not enough : ye di " not tilled with drink : ye clothe you, but are not wa *' thatearneth Avages, earneth wages to put it into a bag or, as in the Hebrew, a hag pierced, o?- bored throtigk in at one end, goes out at another, and so all labour is Ic stays with them to do them good. So that it is an undei that prosperity and shccess are not to be ascribed to ( but to the blessing of God upon our lawful endeavours
1. Inference. And if so, how are they justly reprovable depend upon means in the neglect of providence ; tha God, nor acknowledge him in any of their ways .? This is evil, and highly provoking to the Lord ; it is the fruit a of the natural Atheism of the hearts of men. How c men of success and prosperity, when second causes lie for upon them ? And, on the contrary, how dejected and he they seem to lie cross to their hopes .'' O how few cons lieve that great truth, Eccl. ix. 1. " That the rightet " wise, and their works are in the hand of God !" T hand of God, noteth both their subjection to his power directive providence. Whether your works be in your out of your hand, they always are in God's hand to pro trate them at his pleasure.
Foolish man decreeth events without the leave of Prov he were absolute lord of his own actions, and their siiccc you may then speak of success, Avhen you have asked ( Job xxii. 28. " Acquaint thyself with God, then shalt t
" thing, and it shall be established."" But your confic means, whilst God is neglected, will surely be followed disappointment or a curse. For what is this but to lab God, yea, to labour against God ? For so do all they t rr1nr\r r>f dr\A tr» tlip r-rpnf iirp • tlint <spt thp instriiTYlpnfnl ;
THE SUCCESSFUL SEAMAX. i hand, that hath gotten you this wealth ; why do you glor)^ in it if it were the effect and fruit of your own prudence and industi How soon do the spirits of men rise with their estates ? IIow hau tilv do thev look r How proudly do they speak ? What a sensi chans:e of temper doth this small change of condition work ? it is exceediuohard thing to keep flown the heart when providence exali a mans estate. Ma^nccjcelicitafis est, ajlelicitatc non mnci, s£ Austin, It isa oreat felicity not to be overcome by felicity. That ma surelv rich in grace, whose graces suffer no eclipse by his riches. 1 as hard to be prosperous and humble, as to be afflicted and cheer
But to keep down thy heart in times of success and prosperity, I ^ offer tliee, reader, a few humbhug considerations about tliis mat
1. And the first is this : Though providence do succeed and pi per thv earthly designs, yet this is no argument at all of the lov(
God to thv soul : thou mayest be the object of his hatred and wr for all this. No man knows either love or hatred hy all that is fore him, Eccl. ix. 1. How weak an evidence for heaven must t be, which millions now in hell have had in a greater measure than ; have? The least drachm of grace is a better pledge of happiness, ti the greatest sum of gold and silver that ever lay in any mans treasi Externals distinguish not internals : you caimot so much as gi what a man's spiritual estate is, by the view of his temporal. ] mael was a very great man, the head of a princely family, but, foi that, excluded from the covenant, and all its spiritual blessings, G xvii. 20, 21. He that reads the Ixxiii. Psalm, and the xxi. of J will plainlv see how wretched a case that man is in, vho hath better evidence for the love of God than this amounts to.
2. Be not proud of outward prosjjerity and success ; for pn dences are verv changeable in these thinors; vca, it dailv rin^s changes all the world over. !Many a greater estate than yours, ; every way as well, yea, far better secured to the eye of reason, h he scattered in a moment. It is the saying of a philosopher, speak of the estatesof merchants and seamen, Xon amoJbcl'tcHatcm efuni pendentem ; I like not that happiness that hangs u}X)n ropes. I n not here cite histories^ to confirm this truth : there is none of you can abundantly confirm it to yourselves, if you will but recollect th instances and examples which have fallen within your time and remi brance. It is a poor happiness that may leave a man more misers to-morrow, than he that never arrived to what you have, can be.'3. Pride not yourselves in your success ; for as providences are v chanireable, so the change seems vei*v niffh to you, when your heai
I 1 i
^94 THE SUCCESSFUL SEAMAK.
cious things; and at that time came the prophet Isaia a sad message from the Lord, that all these treasures, had gloried, must be carried to Babylon, Isa. xxxix. comiortably to enjoy the good of providence, provoke) vam ostentations. It is an ingenious note, even of an
Tu quoquefac timeas, ct qucc tibi Iceta videntur, Dum loqueris,Jieri tristia posse, puta. Ov;
Exercise fear in prosperity, and think with thyself, wl is most affected with it, that whilst the boast is in thy 1: may alter, and thy happiness be turned into sorrow, proud boast was in the mouth of Nebuchadnezzar, the heaven told him, " His kingdom was departed from h 80,31. Pride shews, that prosperity, which feeds it, vertical point.
3. Inference. If success in business be from the Lord, ly the true way to prosperity is to commend our affair prayer. He takes the true way to thrive, that engages sing upon his endeavours. " Commit thy way unto the " also in him, and he shall bring it to pass," Psal. xxx a vile thing for any man to grudge that time that is spei as so much time lost in his business. But having pres& before, I shall add no more here.
4. Inference. Doth all success and prosperity depenc come from God ? Then let it be faithfully employed t " If it be of him, and through him," then there is all the i world it should " be to him," Rom. xi. 36. You do t of his own, as David speaks ; " All this store cometh of "and IS thine own," 1 Chron. xxix. 16. He never in; estates for the gratifying of your lusts, but to give you a city thereby of honouring him in the use of them. O cor God hath prospered your estates abroad, and you return home, how you have an opportunity of honouring Go dencing your sense of his goodness to you, by relieving tl a liberal and cheerful charity; by' encouraging the ^ making them partakers of your good things, who laboi souls, and dispense better things to you than you can reti I would not here be mis-interpreted, as though I plead interest, under a pretence of pleading God's ; no ! God fc well satisfied with a capacity of doing any good, how lit' receive ; nor can many of you reap the fruit of mv labo r THE DISAPPOINTED SEAMAV. i anv great matter, 1 Cor. ix. 11. but the discharge of a plain j necessary duty.
5. Inference. Let not your hearts be satisfied with all the sue* and increase of the world, except your souls thrive as well as y bodies, and your eternal concerns prosper as well as your tempo
It was a pious wish of St. John for Gains his host, " That he mi
prosper, and be in health, even as his soul prospered," 3 Ef John, ver. 2. But it were to be wished, tliat your souls did prosper as your bodies and estates do. It is a poor comfort to h an increasing estate, and a de. d and declining soul. When a c siderable present was sent to Luther, he earnestly protested, ( should not put him oiF with these things. O friends ! I bese you take not up in these enjoyments !
6. Inference. Lastly, If God be the author of all your succ how prodigious an evil is it to make your prosperity an instrura of dishonouring him that gave it ; to abuse the estates provide gives you, to rioting and drunkenness ? Do you thus requite Lord ! is this the thanks you give him for all his care over yt and kindness to you ! you would never be able to bear that fr another, which God bears from you. If God do you good, O not return him evil for it !
DISAPPOINTED SEAMAN.
SERMON V.
Luke v. 5.
Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken Tiothing.
A HESE words are the reply made by Peter unto Christ, w in the former verse, had commanded him to '■ launch out into
" deep, and let down the nets for a draught." Peter is discouraf as to any farther attempt at that time, having already taken so mi pains to so little purpose : " We have (saith he) toiled all the nis
396 THE DISAPPOINTED SEAMAX.
bourers take theii' rest, in watching, but in toiling. xcTTiusavrig comes from a verb that signifies wasting-, i inff, labour. Here was great diligence, even to the wasting of their spirits : " They toiled, and that all tl 2. The unsuccessfulness and fruitlessness of their caught nothing. Though their design was honest, and ' great, yet it succeeded not according to their desire and it proved but lost labour and pains to no purpose. H will be,
Doct. That God sometimes ^frustrates and blasts \ gent labours of men^ in their just and laiof'ul call What employment more honest, or laborious, tha husbandman, who eats his bread in the sweat of his bi tains all that spending toil and labour, by an expectati the season .'* And yet sometimes it so falls out, that af bours and hopes, he reaps nothing but shame and dis
Joel i. 11. " Be astonished, O ye husbandmen : Ho^^ " dressers, for the wheat, and for the barley, because t
" the field is perished."" . The employment of the mariner is as lawful as it what he gets, is gotten with imminent hazard of life ai well as watchings and labours; and yet it so falls oui that they labour but for the wind, and spend their stre vanity : God cuts off their expectations and lives toge is a time when they return rich and prosperous, and they either return empty, or return no more. So it w; that renowned mart, and famous empory ; the flouris of whose trade you have in Ezek. xxvii. 33, 34. " Wl
" went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people
enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude < " and of thy merchandise." Here was their prosperity but will this day always last ? Shall the sun of their pro set .P No ; the change was at hand ; for in the next ve alters. " In the day when thou shalt be broken by tli
" depths of the waters, thy merchandise, and all th) " the midst of thee, shall fall."
Now if we search into the grounds and reasons of pointments by the hand of providence, we shall find th to a threefold cause and reason.
1. The sovereign pleasure of God so disposes it. 2. The good of the people of God requires it.
THE DlSATPOrXTED SEAMAN, depress otliers ; to set some above, and others below : all must be rich and great, but some must be poor and low, and to these e: providences are suited : On some it smiles, on others it frow 1 Sam. ii. 7. " The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich ; he bri i».
eth low, and lifteth up." And certainly there is much of Div wisdom shining forth in this ordination and disposition of persons j their conditions. If providence had alike prospered every man's si<^ns, and SL»t them upon a level, there had been no occasion to ercise the rich man's charity, or the poor man's patience. Nay, w; out frequent disappointments, providence itself would scarcely owned in successes, nor these successes be half so sweet to them t receive them, as now they are. The very beaut v of providence c sists much in these various and contrary effects: So that with spect to the infinite Wisdom which governs the world, it is necess some should be crossed, and others prosper in their designs.
Secondlij, And if we consider the gracious ends and designs of G towards his own people, it appears needful that all of them, in so things, and many of them in most things (relating to their outw; condition in this world) should be frustrated in their expectatii and contrivances. For if all thingps here should succeed accord to their wish, and a constant tide of prosperity should attend th(
1. How soon would sensuality and earthliness invade their he£ and aiFections .'' Much prosperity, like the |>ouring in of much wi intoxicates, and overcomes our weak heads and hearts *. Earth as well as heavenly objects, have a transforming efficacy in the there cannot but be much danger in those earthly things that g or promise us much delight. Can a Christian keep his heart as lo from the smiling, as from the frowning world ? We httle think h deeply it insinuates into our affections in the day of prosperity ; 1 when adversity comes, then we find it.
ii. How soon would it estrange them from their God, and int rupt their communion with him } He is certainly a very mortif and heavenly Christian, whose walk with God suffers no interrupt by the multitude of earthly affairs, especially when they are prosp ous. When Israel was settled in the midst of the riches and delig of Canaan, then say they, (even to their Benefactor, the Author all their prosperity) " AVe are lords, wc will come no more to the Jer. ii. 31. Or, if it do not wholly interrupt their communion, ; secretly destroys and wastes the vigour, life, and sweetness of it. that Divine Wisdom sees it necessary to cross and disappoint th in tnp Wnrlri. tn nrpvpnttlio iviic/^l-'icn-^iic ififliionr'ac fVnt •nmcru-^r
898 THE niSAPPOIKTED SEAMAK.
prosperity should follow our affairs and designs here ? notwithstanding all the cares, fears, sorrows, crosses, wa appointments we meet with from year to year, and from yet we are apt to hug the world in our bosoms. As b we court it, admire it, and zealously prosecute it. W and are loth to leave it, though we have little rest or c What could we do then, if it should answer our exp desires ? If we grasp with pleasure a thorn that pierces us ; what would we do if it were a rose that had notl hght and pleasure in it .''
Thirdly y And as disappointments fall out as the effects pleasure, and are ordered as preventive means of such mi; prosperity Avould occasion to the people of God ; so i righteous retribution and punishment of the many evils t mitted in our trading and dealinj^s with men. It is a 1 have much business pass through our hands, and no iniqi them and defile them. If God be provoked against u quities, wonder not that things go cross to our desires and may suffer some men to prosper in their wickedness, a miscarry in their just and righteous enterprizes; but c find that crying sins are remarkably punished, sooner < visible judgments. So that if others do not, yet we oi observe the relation that such a judgment bears to sucl
And, from among many, I will here select these fol which have destroyed the estates and hopes of many.
(1.) Irrreligious and atheistical neglect and contempt his worship, especially in those that have been enlig made profession of religion. This was the sin which 1 blasting judgment upon the estates and labours of the prophet Haggai tells them, chap. i. ver. 2, 4, 6, 9-
They neglected the house of God," i. e. were careless less of his worship, and, in the mean time, were wholly their own houses and interests, as he tells them in ver.
was the issue of this ? Why, ruin to all their eart and designs. So he tells them, ver. 6, 9- " Ye have
" and bring in little ; ye eat, but ye have not enough ; ] *' ye are not filled with drink ; ye clothe you, but t *' warm ; and he that earneth wages, doth it to put it inl *' holes. Ye looked for much, and lo, it came to httle " ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why, saith *' hosts? "Rprausp of mine house that is waste: and v^
THE DISAPPOINTED SEAMAN'. S{ of God hath used a very lively similitude to represent to us the mi chievous effects of this sin upon all human diligence and industr
Jer. xvii. 11. "As the partridge sitteth upon eggs^ and hatcheth the •' not ; so he that getteth riches, and not by riglit, shall leave the
in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool." Unjust gain, how long soever men sit brooding upon it, shall aft all their sedulity and expectation, turn to no other account than fowl's sitting upon a nest of addle-eggs uses to do : if she sit till s! have pined auay herself to death, nothing is produced.
You think vou consult the interest of your families herein, but t
Lord tells you, " That you consult shame to your houses," Hab. 10. This is not the way to Jeaiker, but to Jire your nest. A qui conscience is infinitely better than a full purse ; one dish of whoi some, though coarser food, is better than an hundred delicate, b poisoned dishes. If a man have eaten the best food in the world, ai afterwards sips but a little poison, he loseth not only the benefit a] comfort of that which was good, but his life or health to boot. may be, you have gotten much honestly ; what pity is it all tl good should be destroyed for the sake of a little gotten dishonestl
This is the reason why some men cannot prosper.
(3.) Oppression is a blasting sin to some men's estates and emplc ments. It is a crying sin in the ears of the Lord, and ordinarily inta a visible curse upon men's estates ; this, like a moth will suddec fret and consume the greatest estate. Jam. v. 2, 4. " Your rich " are corrupted, and your garments moth-eaten ;" i. e. The seci
curse of God wastes and destroys what you get. And what w the cause ? He tells us, ver. 4. "Behold the hire of the laboure that have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back
fraud, crieth ; and the cries of them which have reaped, are t ** tered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." The oppression of poor labourers doth more mischief to the c pressors, than it doth to them that are oppressed. It is noted bv * o upon tliis scripture, that it is twice repeated in this text, " Whi " have reaped your fields ;" and then again. The crv of them whi " have reaped :" and the reason is, because it is their life, and so act of the greatest unmercifulness; and besides, they are disappoint of the solace of their labours. Deut. xxiv. 14, 15. " He hath set J
'" heart upon it ;" i. e. he comforts himself in the toils and labours the day, by reckoning upon his wages at the end of the day.
I wish those that are owners and emplovers of poor seamen, m
400 THE DISAPPOINTED SEAMAN.
not only threatened to be a swift witness against those tha hireling in his wages, but hath strictly forbidden the their wages. The Jews were commanded to make pay the sun-set*, Deut. xxiv. 14, 15. Lev. xix. 30. Be jui dealings and contracts, or never expect the righteous smile upon your undertakings.
(4.) Falsehood and lying is a blasting sin to our emp sin which tends to destroy all converse, and disband all c And though by falsehood men may get some present ad^ hear what the Holy Ghost saith of riches gotten this
getting of riches by a lying tongue, is a vanity tossc
of them that seek death,"" Prov. xxi. 6. Some tr; much as in wares ; yea, they trade off their wares wit this proves a gainful trade (as some men count gain) for but, in reality, it is the most unprofitable trade that t drive. For it is but the tossing of a vanity to and fro : jxjrting labour in vain, it profits nothing in the end, and nothing, so it hurts much : they seek profit intentionall eventually ; i. e. it will bring destruction and ruin, not o trades, but our souls. The God of truth will not lone way of lying ; one penny gotten by a laborious hand i great treasures gotten by a lying tongue : take heed y death in seeking an estate this way. It is a sin destructi^ for there is no trade where there is no trust, nor no trusi is no truth ; and yet this cursed trade of lying creeps in as if there were no living (as one speaks) without lying is better for you to be losers than liars. He sells a dea deed that sells his conscience with his commodity.
(5.) Perjury, or false swearing, is a blasting sin. Thi prosper that lies under the guilt thereof It is said, Mai.
God vvill be a swift witness against the false swearer,' not be long before God by one remarkable stroke of j another witness against so great and horrid an evil.
Zech. V. 4. the curse, yea, the roll of curses, " shal
" the house of the false swearer, and shall remain in the " house, and shall consume it, with the timber thereof, a
" thereof." This is a sin that hath laid many houses great and fair, without inhabitant. The ruins of mai once flourishing, and great men are at this day left to h monuments of God's righteous judgments, and dreadfuj posterity.
THE DISAPPOIXTED SEAMAN/ 4 labours of men in their lawful callings ? Then this teacheth you tience and submission under your crosses and disappointments ; f< b is the Lord that orders it to be so. Events are in hi* hand, and ; IP a sin of great aggravation to fret and murmur at them when thev out cross to vour desires and hopes. " Behold, is it not of the L
" of hosts, that the people should labour in the very fire, and
" people shall weary themselves for very vanity r"^ Hab. ii. 13. To labour in the very fire, notes intense laljour, such as exhai the very spirits of men whilst tliey are sweltering and toiling at and yet all is to no purpose, they labour but for vanity : and whe is it that such vigorous endeavours are blasted, and miscarry .'' ] not of the Lord ? And if it be of the Lord, why do we fret and qua at his disposals ? Indeed, many dare not openly and directly cha
God, but seek, to cover their discontent at providence, by a ground quarrel with the instruments, who, it may be, are chargeable v nothing; but that after they have done all thev could, in the us proper means, they did not also secure the event. It is true, the minion of providence doth not excuse the negligence of instrumer and, in many cases, these may be j ustly reproved, when providenc duly honoured and submitted to: But when men groundlessly qi rel with instruments, because they are crossed in their expectati( the quarrel is commenced against God himself: and ourdiscontt with men are but a covert for our discontents with God.
Now this is a sore evil, a sin of great and dreadful aggravatit
To be given over (saith a grave* author) to a contradicting spi * to dispute against any part of the will of God, is one of the greai * plagues that a man can be given up to.' " Who art thou that " pliest against God.^' Rom. ix. 20. It may be thou hast lost estate, thy friends fail, thy hopes are fallen ; God hath blown u] all the projects that thy heart did fancy to itself Possibly in one d the designs, labours, and hopes of many years are destroyed : W be it so, yet repine not against the Lord. Consider, he is the So reign, and only Lord, who may do whatever he pieaseth to do wi out giving thee any account of his matters. Who can say to h What dost thou ? Beside, if thou be one that God delights in, e^ these disappointments are to be numbered with thy best mere These things are permitted to perish, that thou mayest not perish ever; and it should trouble thee no more than when thy life is }; served by casting out the wares and goods of the ship. ' It is bel that these perish than that thou shouldst perish ; but if thou be < that mingled sin (especially such as were before mentioned) with 1
402 THE DISAPPOINTED SEAMAV.
all your success, and then fret against God, when you s O how unreasonable is this !
But because disappointments fall out so frequently, an( to bring our hearts to a quiet submission to the will of them, I will not dismiss this point until I have offered yi per and weighty considerations to work your hearts int meek submission to the will of God ; and I shall accoi mercy if they may prevail.
Consideration 1. And, in the first place, if thou be on God, consider, that disappointments in earthly things fi
God's hatred upon thee. He may love thee, and yet cro ix. 1, 2. " No man knows either love or hatred by all th
*' are before him. All things come alike to all ; there
to the righteous, and to the wicked."" Yea, we ofter and prosperity following the wicked, whilst the rod of the tabernacles of the righteous. " These are the ungoc " per in the world, (saith the Psalmist) whilst in the i " was plagued all the day long, and chastened every me Ixxiii. 12, 14. Well then, if you have no other groui you cannot infer the want of love, from the want of man may be prospered in wrath, and crossed in mercy
Consideratio7i ^. And what though your projects, hf pectations of enlarging your estates fail ; yet you ma^ pily and comfortably in the condition you are, (if Go heart suitable to it) as if you had enjoyed all that si fancied and desired.
It is not the increase of an estate, but the blessing of competencv, that makes our condition comfortable to estate enlarges, so doth the hearty The prophet Haba ing of the Chaldean prince, Hab. ii. 6. saith, " He
home, he enlarges his desire as hell, and is as deatl: " be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and
him all people." And this is the nature of every w enlarge its desire and the greatest enlargements of pro^ the heart is projecting for some further comfort and co new acquisition ; when. Indeed a man is as near it in s tion as in the highest exaltation.
It is storied of Pyrrhus*, king of Epirus, thathavinj dominions by the conquest of Macedonia, he thirstec and demanding the advice of Cineas, his great counselloi king what he meant to do when he had conquered Italy
THE DISAPPOINTED SEAMAX. 4i said C'uieas : When you have Afric, and all in it, what will you then ? Why then, said the king, thou and I will be merry, a make good clieer. Cineas replied. Sir, if this be the end you a; at, what need you venture your kingdom, person, and honour, purchase what you have already ? Surely Epirus and Macedonia £ suf&cient to make you and me merry : and had you all the wor] vou could not be more merry than you may now be.
Reader, I advise thee, under all disappointments of thy expec: tions, to bless God for any comfortable enjoyment thou hast
God give thee a smaller estate, and a contented heart, it is as wt vea, better than if thou hadst enjoyed thy desire. The bee mal> a sweeter meal upon two or three flowers, than the ox that hath many mountains to graze upon.
Consideration 3. And what if by these disappointments, God carrjdng on the great design of his eternal love upon thy soul ? Tl may be the design of these providences ; and if so, sure there is cause for thy despondencies. There is a double aim of these pre dences; sometimes they are sent to awaken and rouse the dull c cayed habits of grace, which under prosperous providences fall asle by the intermission of acts, and remission of wonted vigour and ac vity : And should the Lord permit things to run on at this rate, wli a deplorable case would this grow to ? ' Let a man live (saith * or * but two or three years without affliction, and he is almost good i * nothing ; he cannot pray, nor meditate, nor keep his heart fix * upon spiritual things : But let God smite hira in his health, chi] * or estate ; now he can find his tongue and affections again ; nc * he awakes and falls to his duty in earnest ; now God hath twi * as much honour from him as he had before. Now, saith God, 1
' amendment pleaseth me ; this rod was well bestowed : I have d
appointed him to his great benefit and advantage. And thus Gi
chides himself friends with his people again.' And sometimes they prove the blessed occasions to work grace. "
they be bound in fetters, and holden in cords of affliction, th " he sheweth them their works, and their transgression that th I " have exceeded : He openeth also their ear to discipline, and coi l|** mandeth that they return from iniquity," Job xxxvi. 8, 9, 10. 1 ^' And if this be the fruit of it, you will bless God through etemi for these happy disappointments. Then these things perished, th thy soul might not perish.
Consideration 4. Be patient under disappointments; for if y( meeklv submit, and quietly wait upon Gtxl, he can quicklv repi
THE DISAPPOINTED SEAMAN.
what a gracious end the Lord made with him ? And you hope for such a comfortable change of provideno if you also carry it under disappointments as he did? providences are near their change when the heart is will of God, and corrected home to him.
Consideration 6. And why should it seem so hard a you, for God to disappoint your hopes and purposes, not but know, that you have disappointed his expectai so often, and that in greater and better things than t\
He hath looked for fruit (as it is, Isa. v. 4.) for obi mation, and renewed care of duty from you many ti mised himself, and made account of a good return of and mercies, and you promised him as much, and yet expectation : And is it then strange that you shouh hopes, who have failed God so often ?
- O then see that you are quiet in the will of God ; j defeating of your hopes, wreak not your discontent i instruments, but look to the just and holy, and good all things. The wife is sometimes angry with the ser he hath done, till he tells her that it was his master's oi ghe is quiet. ' Has a ship miscarried, is a voyage lost, a relation d gone, a friend carried into captivity, whose return was ( so much delight and comfort ? why, if it be so, it is tl done it, and be thou silent before him. Your repii make it better ; sin is no proper cure for affliction, submissive spirit is well-pleasing to God, as well as prof
Doth God sometimes disappoint the e: men m their employments ? then never set your he rately upon earthly things, nor raise up to yourselves pectations from these things. The stronger your expi heavier God's disappointments will be.
There is a double evil in over-reckoning ourselves, ar our confidence about worldly things: it provokes God us, and then makes the disappointment much more oit comes.
It provokes a disappointment especially to the godlv is jealous of their affections, and will not endure tl should be a co-rival, or competitor with him for their h is so usual with God to dash and remove whatever < much of the heart, that a gracious soul cannot but reel
THE DISAPPOINTED SEAMAV.
And when your inordinate hopes are crossed, as it is very probt they will be, how will your sorrows be aggravated in proportioi them ? Those things that seemed to promise us most comfort, are things that give us most sorrow. Strong affections make strong flictions. Our sorrows usually rise from what was our hope, and comforts from that which was the least regarded.
Inference 3. If it be so, then labour to make sure of things eten lest you be eternally disappointed there also. O what a sad cas that man in, whose expectations fail from both worlds! If y hopes from this world fail, yet you may bear it comfortably, if ^ fail not in your better hopes; but if these fail too, you are of men the most miserable. You know by experience how sad it i; have your hopes cut off in these smaller concerns ; to ^o forth expectation of a profitable voyage, and to return in a worse case tl you went out : it may be you thought to get an estate, but the is; is to lose that little you had. You thought to go to such a pla and there meet with a good market, and possibly yourselves may carried as slaves, to be sold in the same market. These disappoi ments are very sad and cutting things, but nothing to an eter disappointment in your great concern.