Front matter (continued, part 8)
210 AN EPISTLE TO SEAMES^ SAILING HEAVENWAI
port m all the world, but no mere man can carry a so'
He must be a saint, he must be a divine (so all saints an a pilot to carry a soul to thejair-haven in EmmanuePs la of natural navigation is wonderfully improved since tl Christ, before which time (if there be truth in history) i loadstone was never known in the world ; and before
that was revealed unto the mariner, it is unspeakable w certain wanderings seamen foated here and there, rathe the right and direct way. Sure I am, the art of spiritu is wonderfully improved since the coming of Christ ; clearest and fullest discovery to the coming of Christ. arts is now perfectly revealed in the scriptures of the ( Testament ; but the rules thereof are dispersed up and c The collecting and methodizing of the same cannot bi very useful unto souls : though, when all is done, ther Jute necessity of the teachings of the Spirit, and of the ai is from above, to make souls artists in sailing heaveningemous author of the Christian's Compass, or the Ma panion, makes three parts of this art (as the schoolm
vinity) viz. speculative, practical, and affectionate. T thmgs necessary to be known by a spiritual seamen, in steenng rightly and safely to X\\e port of happiness, he four heads, answerably to the four general points of t making God our north ; Christ our east ; holiness our death our west jjoints. Concerning God, we must kno he is, Heb. xi. 6. and that there is but one God, 1 C( (2.) That this God is that supreme good, in the enjoym ail true happiness hes, Psal. iv. 6, 7. Mat. v. 8.— xvi That, life eternal lying in God, and he being incompre] inconceivable in essence, as being a Spirit, ourbest way 1 m his attributes, Exod. xxxiv. 5, 6, 7. and works, Ron especially in his Son, 2 Cor. iv. 6. (4.) That as God i our chiefest, _;^^ea, only way of knowing, enjoying, servin< mg with liim, is in the Spirit likewise, Job iv. 24. Concei we must know, (1.) That he is the true Sun which aris<
world, by which all are enlightened, John i. 9. Mai. ii' 78, 79. (2.) That God alone is in him, reconciling t himself, 2 Cor. v. 19. 1 Cor. i. 30. John xiv. 6. (3.) Christ is only made ours by the union and indwelling c us through the Spirit, 1 Cor. ii. 9, 10. and vi. 17. Joli 1 Cor. xii. 3, 13. (4.) That the way of tlie Spirit's ui
A^t EPISTLE TO SEAXIEN SAILIKG HKaVIvKWARD i
Christ our Sun is at tlie highest in our liearis, wlien they are m hr)!v. (4.) This holiness is that which is directly opposite to sin ;
« tiipses holiness, and holiness scatters sin, Heb. vii. 26. Phil. ii. 2 Pet iii. 11. Concerning death, we must know, (1.) Death is c tain; the sun of our hfe will set in death ; when our days come ab( to this western point, it will be night, Heb. ix. 27. Psal. xhx. 7, (2.) If we die in our sins out of Christ, we are undone for ever, J viii. 24. Phil. i. 21. (3.) It is our benighting to die, but it is not < annihilating, 1 Cor. xv. Rev. xx. 12. (4.) After death conies juc raent ; all that die shall arise to be judged, either for life or death, i second time, Heb. ix. 27. Matt. xxv. Heb. vi. 2. These four hea and the particulars under them, are as necessary to be known in sp tual navigation, as the four points of the compass are in natural na iration. The things which we ought to do in order to our arrival our happiness, our author makes as many as there be ]K)ints in 1 compass. And for an help to memory we may begin every parti( lar with the initial, known letters on the points of the compass. (1 .) Never stir or steer any course, but by light from God, Psal. ex 105. Isa. viii. 10. (2.) N. and by E. Never enter upon anv desi but such as tends towards Christ, Acts x. 43. (3.) N. N. E. N( nothing enviously, which thrives without God, Psal. Ixxiii. 12, 1
(4.) N. E. and by N. Never entcrprize not warrantable courses procure any of the most prized and conceited advantages, 1 Tim. 9, 10. (5.) N. E. Now entertain the sacred commands of God,
■lereafter thou expect the sovereign consolations of God, Psal. ex 48. (6.) N. E. and by E. Never esteem Egx'pt's treasures so muc
as for them to forsake the people of God, Heb. xi. 26. (7.) E. N. ' Err not, especiallyin soul affairs, Jam. i. 16. 1 Tim. i. 19, 20. Tim. ii. 18. (8.) E. and by N. Eschew nothing but sin, 1 Pet, i 1 1 . Job i. 7, 8— 31 , 34. (9.) E. Establish thy heart with grace, Ut
xiii. 9. (10.) E. and by S. Eye sanctity in everjaction, 1 Pet. i. 1 Zech. xiv. 29. (11) E. S. E. Ever strive earnestly to live und( and to improve the means of grace. (12.) S. E. and by E. Suff
e\-ery evil of punishment of sorrow, rather than leave the ways
hrist and grace. (13.) S. E. Sigh earnestly for more enjoymer f Christ. (14.) S. E. and by S. Seek evermore some evidences
hrist in you the hope of glory. (15.) S. S. E. Still set etemity befo you, in regard of enjoying Jesus Christ,, John x^^i. 24. (16.) S. va by E. Settle it ever in your soul as a principle which you will nev depart from. That holiness and true happiness are in Christ, and 1 Christ. (17.) S. Set thyself always as before the Lord, Psal. xvi.
S12 AN ErisTLK TO SKAMEN isAlLlNG HEAVENWAll
things under your feet, before death come to look you
(22.) S. W. and by W. Still weigh and watch with loins lamps trimmed, Luke xii. 35, 36, 37. (23.) W. S. W. works, and all in the balance of the sanctuary. (24.) V
Walk in sweet communion witth Christ here, and so tho
in peace, Luke ii. 29- (25.) W. Whatsoever thy conditi
world, eye God as the disposer of it, and therein be con iv. 11. (26.) W. and by N. Walk not according to t the most, but after the example of the best. (27.) W. N not what men speak or think of thee, so God approve th
X. 18. Rom. ii. 28, 29. (28.) N. W. and by W. Ne^ but watch against small sins, nor neglect little duties, (29.) N. W. Never wish rashly for death, nor love lif( natelv, Job iii. 4. (30.) N. W. and by N. Now work night come, Job xii. 35, 36. Eccles. ix. 10. (31.) N. J nothing when thou pleadest with God for thy soul, bu free-grace, Dan. ix. 17. (32.) N. and by W. Now wel( if at death thou would st be welcomed by Christ. A te enlivened, and enlightened conscience, is the only point must erect these practical rules of our Christian compass, S Cor. i. 1 2. Our memory, that is the box, in which this c be kept, in which these rules must be treasured, that v ready and expert in them as the mariner is in his sea-cc much for the speculative and practical parts of the art navigation. The affectionate part doth principally lie motions or movino-s of the soul towards God in the affec are raised and warmed, and especially appear active m meditation being, as it were, the limbec, or still, in whi tions heat and melt, and, as it were, drop sweet spiritual v
affectionate author of the C1u'istian''s compass doth indeec and last part of his undertaking, hint at several meditatio spiritual seaman is to be acquainted with, unto which t excellent supplement in this New Compassjbr Seamen.
tion is prefixed, that at once thou mayest view all th (both speculative, practical, and aflectionate) by which the heaven-ward . What further shall be addod by way of p to commend this new compass, which indeed (2 Cor. iii. gu^arixuv imsoym, letters of commendation, or any paneg^ it into an honest heart ; but to stir up all, especially sean conscience of using such choice helps for the promoting cation and salvation of their souls, for the making of th(
A>J EPISTLE TO SEAMEN SAILING HEAVENWARD.
in natural navigation caiTj safe all the treasures of the Indies i thine own ]X)rt, yea> gahi the whole world, and for want of skil spiritual-navigation lose thy own soul, thou wouldest be the grea loser in the world. So far wilt thou be from profiting by any of sea-voyages. There is a plain /xr/a;?/; in those words of Chi
" What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and 1 *• his own soul .'' Or what shall a man give in exchange for his sou More is meant than is spoken *.
2. What a leaking vessel thy body is, -f* in which this unspeakal inconceivable rich treasure, thy soul, is embarked ! O the many < cases and distempers in the humours and passions that thy bod^ subject to ! It is above 2000 years ago, that there have been re oned up 300 names of diseases ; and there be many under one nai and many nameless, which pose the physicians not only how to ci them, but how to call them. And for the affections and passions the mind, the distempers of them, are no less deadly to some, tl the diseases of the body ; but besides these internal causes, there many external causes of leaks in this vessel, as ^ poisonous malig ties, wrathful hostilities, and casual mishaps ; very small matt may be of great moment to the sinking of this vessel. The least g; in the air may choak one, as it did Adrian, a pope of Rome ; a lil hair in milk may strangle one, as it did a counsellor in Rome; a lil
stone of araisin may stop one's breath, as was the case of the poet A creon. Thus you see what a leaking vessel you sail in. Now the mi leaky any ship is, the more need there is of skill to steer wisely.
3. Consider what a dangerous sea the worid is in which thv sou to sail in the leaking ship of thv body. As there are not more chan^
1^-
in the sea, than are in the world, the world being only cou'^tant in
constancy, " The fashion of this world passeth away,"' 1 Cor. vii. ' there are not more dangers in the sea for ships, than there are the world for souls. In this world souls meet with rocks and san
syrens and pirates ; worldly temptations, worldly lusts, and work
company cause many to '• drown themseh*es in perdition," I Ti vi. 9. The very things of this world endanger your souls. By wor ly objects we soon grow worldly. It is hard to touch pitch, and i be defiled. The lusts of tliis world stain all our glory, and the m of this world pollute all they converse with. A man that keeps co pany with the men of this world, is like him that walketh in the si tanned insensibly. Thus I have hinted to you the dangerousness the sea wherein you are to sail. Now the more dangerous the j is, the more requisite it is that the sailor be an aitist.
4. Cnneirlpr ivliat if tVirniirrlT wnnt nf drill in tlip Vipavpnlv art
214 AN EPISTLE TO SEAMEN SAILING HEAVJiiNWAK
spiritual navigation, thou shouldst not steer thy course ar instance only in two consequents thereof. 1. Thou wilt at the haven of happiness. 2. Thou shalt be drowned i
of God's wrath. As true as the word of God is true, ai lieavens are over thy head, and the earth under thy feet thou yet livest, and breathest in this air ; so true and ( thou shalt never enter into heaven, but sink into th( bottomless pit. Am I not herein a messenger of the sad that ever yet thy ears did hear ? Possibly now thou ms matter of these things, because thou dost not know whal of heaven, what it is for ever to lie under the wrath o hereafter thou wilt know fully what it is tohave thy soul ic
so lost, as that God's mercies, and all the good there shall never save it ; and as God hath set and ordered never save it. Hereafter thou wilt be perfectly sensible that thou mightest have had, and of the evil that shall 1
(this is God's peculiar prerogative, to make a creature a misery as he pleaseth) then thou wilt have other thoug
things than thou now hast. Then the thoughts of thy n busied about thy lost condition, both as to the pain of 1 pain of sense *, so that thou shalt not be able to take i moment ; then, that thy torments may be increased, tl ledge the truth of thy apprehensions, yea, the strength < be increased ; thou shalt have the true and deep af of the greatness of that good that thou shalt miss of, anc which thou shalt procure unto thyself; and then thou able to chuse, but to apply all thy loss, all thy misery which will force thee to roar out, O my loss ! O my mii
inconceivable, irrecoverable loss and misei'y ! yea, for tl of thy torments, thy affections and memory shall be ei
that, to prevent that loss and misery, these things may no' and laid to heart ! O that a blind understanding, a stupi a bribed conscience, a hard heart, a bad memory, ma make heaven and hell to seem but trifles to thee ! the
easily be persuaded to make it thy main business here an artist in spirittial navigation. But to shut up t I shall briefly acquaint seamen, why they should, of a men of singular piety and heavenliness, and therefore m dinarily study the heavenly art of spiritual navigatii seamen Avould then consider,
1. How nigh they border upon the confines of death ,
AN EPISTLE TO SEAMEN SAILING HEAVENWARD.
Tocks, in another perilous sands, and every where stormy w readv to destroy them. * Well may the seamen cry out, Ego <
tinu'm non hahui ; I have not had a to-morrow in my hands 1 raanv years. Should not they then be extraordinary serious and venly continually ! Certainly (as the reverend author of this compass well observes) nothing more composeth the heart to su frame, than tlie lively apprehensions of eternity do ; and none greater external advantages for that, than seamen have.
2. Consider (seamen) what extraordinary help you have b^
book of the creatures ; " The whole creation is God's voice ;
" God's excellent -fhand-writing, or the sacred scriptures ol " most High," to teach uS much of God, and wliat reasons we to bewail our rebellion against God, and to make conscience of o ing God onlv, naturallv, and continually. The heavens, the e< the waters, are the three great leaves of this l>ook of God, and al creatures are so many lines in those leaves. All that learn not to and serve God by the help of this book, will be left inexcusj Rom. i. 20. How inexcusable then will ignorant and ungodly vien be ! Seamen should, in this respect, be the best scholars ir
Lord's school, seeing they do, more than others, see the worl the Lord, and his wonders in the great deep, Psal. cvii. 24.
3. Consider how often you are nearer heaven than any peopl
the world. " They mount up to heaven," Psal. cvii. 26. It has 1 said of an ungodly minister, that contradicted his preaching ir life and conversation, that it was pity he should ever come out ol pulpit, because he was there as near heaven as ever he would
Shall it be said of you, upon the same account, that it is a pity should come down from the hish towering waves of the sea ? Sh(
not seamen that in stormy weather have their feet (as it were) u the battlements of heaven, look down upon all earthly happines
this world but as base, waterish, and worthless .'* The great citit Campania seem but small cottages to them that stand on the A Should not seamen^ that so oft mount up to heaven, make it ti
main business here, once at last to get into heaven .'' What ! (seam
shall you only go\to heaven against jour wills ? When seamen mc up to heaven in a storm, the Psaltnist tells us, That " their s< " are melted because of trouble." O that you were continuallj unwilling to go to hell, as you are in a storm to go to heaven !
4. And lastly, Consider what engagements lie upon you to be gularly holy, from your singular deliverances and salvations. T that go down to the sea in ships, are sometimes in the valley of
216 THE ALT'IIOil TO THE READER.
have been far out of siglit of any land ; or by his bringing perishing ship safe to shore. Sometimes they have been in danger of being taken by pirates, yet wonderfully prescr
by God's calmmg of the winds in that part of the sea wh rates have sailed, or by giving the poor pursued ship a str wind to run away from their pursuers, or by sinking the ]
Sometimes their ships have been cast away, and yet they wonderfully got safe to shore upon planks, yards, masts, & be endless in enumerating their deliverances from drow burning, from slavery, &c. Sure (seamen) your extrarord tions lay more than ordinary engagements upon you, to j
fear, obey, and trust in your Saviour and Deliverer. I ha-s the enthralled Greeks were so affected with their liberti by Flaminius the Roman general, that their shrill accl
1u%^. '2u!r,^, a Saviour, a Saviour! made the very birds fal the heavens astonished. O how should seamen be affectei
sca-deliverances I many that have been delivered from 1 very, have vowed to be servants to their redeemers all the d
lives. Ah ! Sirs, will not you be more than ordinarily God's the days of your lives, seeing you have been so oft, so won deemed from death itself by him ? Verily, do what you c
die in God's debt. " As for me, God forbid that I shoulc
*' the Lord in ceasing to pray for you," 1 Sam. xii. 23, 9.A ihe perusal of this short and sweet treatise, wherein the ji
ingenious author hath well mixed utile dulci, profit and p may learn the good and right way, even to fear the Lore him in truth witli all your hearts, considering how gres hath done for you. This is the hearty prayer of
Your cordial Ji iend, earnestly desirous of a prosper
for your precious and immortal souls.
THE AUTHOR TO THE READER
HEN dewy-cheek'd Aurora doth display Her curtains, to let in the new-born day. Her heav'nly face looks red, as if it were Dy'd with a modest blush, 'twixt shame and fear.
Sol makes her blush, suspecting that he will Scorch some too much, and others leave too chill.
A >rEW COMPASS FOR SEAMEN, &C.
*Tis gone from me too young, and now is run To sea, among tlie tribe of Zebulun. Go, little book, thoi^ many friends wilt find Among that tribe, wlio will be very kind; And many of them care of thee will take,
Both for thy own, and for thy father's sake. Heav'n save it from the dangerous storms and gusts That will be raised against it by men's lusts. Guilt makes men angry, anger is a storm.
But sacred truth's thy shelter, fear no harm. On times, or persons, no reflection's found I Though with reflections few books more abound. Gro, little book, I have much more to say. But seamen call for thee, thou must away: Yet ere you have it, grant me one request. Pray do not keep it prisoner in your chest.
NEW COMPASS
FOR SEAMEN: OR,
NAVIGATION SPIRITUALIZED.
CHAP. I.
l^te launching of a ship plainly seisjbrth Our double state j by first and second birth,
O sooner is a ship built, launched, rigged, victualled, manned, but she is presently sent out into the boisterous oci where she is never at rest, but continually fluctuating, tossing, labouring, until she be either overwhelmed, and wrecked in the : or through age, knocks, and bruises, grow leaky, and unserviceal 1 -111 T'.l l" "^
218 A NEW COMPASS lOn SEAMEN ; OR,
troubles. Job v. 7. " Yet man is born to trouble, as th(
" upwards." The spark no sooner comes out of the fire, up naturally ; it needs not any external force, help, or gui ascends from a principle in itself; so naturally, so easily d( rise out of sin. There is radically all the misery, anguish, j in the world in our corrupt natures. As the spark lies t the coals, so doth misery in sin; everv sin draws a rod afte these sorrows and troubles fall not only on the body, in th es, flaws, deformities, pains, aches, diseases, to which it ivhich are but the groans of dying nature, and its cru; degrees, into dust again ! but on all our employments a also. Gen. iii. 17, 18, 19. These are full of pain, troub appointment, Hag. i. 6. We earn wages, and put it into holes, and disquiet ourselves in vain ; all our relations full The apostle speaking to those that marry, saith, 1 C
*' Such shall have trouble in the flesh."" Upon which glosseth thus : Flesh and trouble are married together, \
See Mr Whatc- ^^^^^'^7 <^^ "«' ^^} ^^^^J ^^^^ ^"^^ ™^" 7 , ^ 7-7 with, and match into new troubles : A leys tare-cloth. , \.\ ■ \ ^ ^^ *i • ^ have their burdens, as well as their co were endless to enumerate the sorrows of this kind, ai troubles of the body are but the body of our troubles ; t. the curse falls upon the spiritual and noblest part of man. and body, like to Ezckiers roll, are written full with sor within and without. So that we make the same report o when we come to die, that old Jacob made before Pha
xlvii. 9. " Few and evil hath the days of the years of our 1 Eccl. ii. 22, 23. " For what hath man of all his labour,
" vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured unde " For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; ye£ " taketh no rest in the night : This is also vanity." Neither dolh our new birth free us from troubles, th they be sanctified, sweetened, and turned into blessings t(
put not oft' the human, when we put on the divine natur we then freed from the sense, though we are delivered froi and curse of them. Grace doth not presently pluck ou arrows that sin hath shot into the sides of nature. 2 C
*' When we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had n
t' we were troubled on every side: Without were figh " within were fears." Rev. vii. 14. "These are they tha
*' of great tribulations." The first cry of the new-borr
NAVIGATION SPIRITUALIZED. 2
and not Comforted." [Tossed] as Jonah's ship was ; for the sai word is there used, Jonah i. 11, 13. as a vessel at sea, stormed a;
violently driven without rudder, mast, sail, or tackling. Nor are ' to expect freedom from those troubles, until harboured in heavei see 2 Thess. i. 7. O what large catalogues of experiences do t saints carry to heaven with them, for their various exercises, dange trials, and marvellous preservations and deliverances out of all ! a yet all these troubles without, are nothing to those within ther from temptations, corruptions, desertions, bv passion andcompassio Besides their own, there come daily upon them the troubles of othei many rivulets fall into this channel and brim, yea, often overflow t bank. Psalm xxxiv. 19. " Many are the afflictions of the right « ous."
REFLECTION.
Hence should the graceless heart thus reflect upon itself, O r soul ! into what a sea of troubles art thou launched forth ! and wl
a sad case art thou in ! full of trouble, and full of sin ; and these mutuallv produce each other. And that which is the most dreadf consideration of all, is that I cannot see the end of them. As for t saints, they suffer in the world as well as I ; but it is but for a whi
1 Pet. V. 10. and then they suffer no more, 2 Thess. i. 7. " But ;
" tears shall be wiped awav from their eyes,"" Rev. vii. 17. Butn troubles look with a long visas^e, ah ! they are but the befinnninor
sorrows, but a parboiling before I be roasted in the flames of Go< eternal wrath. If I continue as I am, I shall but deceive myself, if conclude I shall be happy in the other world, because I have met wi so much sorrow in this: For I read, Jude, ver. 7. that the inhal tants of Sodom and Gomorrah, though consumed to ashes, with t their estates and relations, (a sorer temporal judgment than ever y befel me) do, notwithstanding that continue still in " cverlastii
" chains, under darkness, in which thev are reserved unto the jud
" ment of the great day.'" These troubles of the saints are sanci fied to them, but mine are fruits of the curse. They have spiritu consolations to balance them, which flow into their souls in the san height and degree, as troubles do upon their bodies, 2 Cor. i. 5. B I am a stranger to their comforts, and " intermeddle not with the
'' joysj" Prov. xiv. 10. If their hearts be surcharged with troubl they have a God to go to ; and when they have opened their cau before him, they are eased, return with comfort, and their " count
'' nance is no more sad,'' 1 Sam. i, 18. When their belly is as be tine full r^P r^n^.r „A^^ +1,^., ™..„ :^ ^ 1 :„.*_ -..^ .1,
f 20 A NEW COMPASS FOR SEAMEN ; OH,
look round about thee ! what a miserable case art thou longer satisfied in it, but look out for a Christ also. \A I am a vil?, unworthy wretch ? yet he promiseth to love^ xiv. 4. and invites such as are heavy laden to him, Mal
Hence also should the gracious soul reflect sweetly upc this manner : And is the world so full of trouble ? O m^ cause hast thou to stand admiring at the indulgence and God to thee ? Thou hast hitherto had a smooth passa^ tively to what others have had. How hath Divine Wis( my condition, and cast my lot ? Have I been chastised others with scorpions. Have I had no peace without r neither had peace Mithout or within, but terrors roum have 1 felt trouble in my flesh and spirit at once ? yet h been extreme, either for time or measure. And hatl
been a Sodom, an Egypt to thee .'' Why then dost thou in it, and hanker after it ? Why do I not long to be go more heartily for deliverance ? Why are the thoughts o coming no sweeter to me, and the day of my full delivera panted for ? And why am I no more careful to maintain in, since there is so much trouble without ? Is not this weight into all outward troubles, and makes them sinkin fall upon me when ray spirit is dark, or wounded ?
My soul, art thou besieged With troubles round about ; If thou be wise, take this advice,
To keep these troubles out. Wise men will keep their conscience as their eyes ; For in their conscience their best treasure lies.
See you be tender of your inward peace,
That shipwreck'd, then your mirth and joy must t If God from i/oii your outward comforts rend,
You'll find what need you have of such a friend. If this be not by sin destroyed and lost. You need not Jear, your peace will quit your cost.
If you'd know how to sweeten any grief,
Tho' ne'er so great, or to procure relief Against th' afflictions, which, like deadly darts, Most fatal a7'e to men of carnal hearts ;
NAVIGATION SPIRITUALIZED,
CHAP. II.
In the vast ocean spiritual eyes descry
Gods boundless mercy ^ and eternity.
A HE ocean is of vast extent and depth, though supposedly m(
surable, yet not to be sounded by man. It compasseth about t
whole earth, which, in the account of Geographers, is twentv-o
thousand and six hundred iniles in compass ; yet the ocean envirc
it on every side, Psalm civ. 35. and Job xL 9Suitable to whi
is that of the poet *.
" He spread the seas, which then he did command,
" To swell with winds, and compass round the land."
And for its depth, who can discover it ? The sea in Scripture called the deep. Job xxxviii. 30. the great deep, Gen. vii. 11. i
gathering together of the uaters into one place, Gen. i. 9It ' vastest mountain were cast into it, it would appear no more than head of a pin in a tun of water.
APPLICATIOX.
This, in a lively manner, shadows forth the infinite and incomj: hensible mercv of our God, whose mercy is said to be over all
works, Psal. cxlv. 9In how many sweet notions is the mercy of G represented to us in the Scripture ? He is said to be pleideoiis, Ps; ciii. 8. abundant, 1 Pet i. 3. rich in mercy, Eph. ii. 4. then, that
mercies are unsearchable, Eph. iii. 8. " High as the heavens ab " the earth,'^ Psal. x. 4. which are so high and vast, that the wj earth is but a small point to tliem ; yea, they are not only compa to the heavens, but to come home to the metaphor, to the depth the sea, Mic. vii. 19. which can swallow up mountains as well as m hills ; and in this sea God hath drowned sins of a dreadful hei
and aggravation, even scarlet, crimson, i. e. deep dyed with man) tensive acrgravations, Isa. i. 18. In this sea was the sin of ^Vlanai drowned, and of what magnitude that was, may he seen, 2 Ch xxxiii. 3. yea, in this ocean of mercy did the Lord drown and c<
the sins of Paul, though a blasphemer, a persecutor, injuriou
Tim. i. 13. " Xonp Tsaith Aiicru-stinp^ ninrpfiprrf th^n Paul am
S22 A XEW C05IFASS FOR SEAMEN ; OB,
- men ! How hath it stopped the slanderous mouths of me;
It hath yearned upon " fornicators, idolaters, adulter
*' covetous, drunkards, rcyilers, extortioners ;'" to su^ sceptre of mercy been stretched forth, upon their urtfei tance and submission, 1 Cor. vi. 9. What doth the S aim at in such a large accumulation of names of mercy i vince poor sinners of the abundant fulness and riches c will but submit to the terms on which it is tendered to
In the vastness of the ocean, we have also a lively emi nity. Who can comprehend or measure the ocean, but who can comprehend eternity but he that is said to mh Ivii. 5. Though shallow rivers may be drained and d the ocean cannot. And though these transitory days, years will at last expire and determine ; yet eternity sh it is a long word ! and amazing matter ! what is etemit stant permanency of persons and things, in one and t\v and condition for ever; putting them beyond all possibilit The heathens were wont to shadow it by a circle, or a s round. It will be to all of us, either a perpetual day or will not be measured by watches, hours, minutes. And be measured, so neither can it ever be diminished. Wlie of years are gone, there is not a minute less to come. ( Drexelius do both illustrate it by this known similitude bird were to come once in a thousand years to some vast
sand, and carry away in her bill one grain in a thoui O what a vast time would it be ere that immortal bin
rate, should carry off the mountain ! and yet in time tl done. For there would still be some diminution ; but there can be none. There be three things in time, wl competent to eternity : In time there is a succession, one year, and day passeth, and another comes ; but eterni
[^zoze^]. In time there is a diminution and wasting, the i the less is to come. But it is not so in eternity. In tine
alteration of condition and states : A man may be poor rich to-morrow ; sickly and diseased this week and we now in contempt, and anon in honour : But no changes j: in eternity. As the tree falls at death and judgment, ever. If in heaven, there thou art a pillar, and shalt more. Rev. iii. 12. If in hell, no redemption thence, bi of their torment ascendeth for ever and ever. Rev. xix.
NAVIGATION SPIEITDALIZEU. 2i
mercy ? O my soul, bless thou the Lord, and let his high prais ever be in thy mouth. Mayest thou not say, that he hath gone as high an extent and degree of mercy in pardoning thee as ever did in any ? O my God, who is like unto thee ! that pardoneth h quity, transgresion and sin. What mercy, but the mercy of a Gc could cover such abomination as mine ?
But O I what terrible reflections will conscience make from hen(
unto all despisers of mercy, when the sinner's eyes come to ])e open too late for mercy, to do them good ! We have heard indeed, tl the king of heaven was a merciful king, but we would make address to him, whilst that sceptre was stretched out We heard
balm in Gilead, and a physician there, that was able and willing cure all our wounds, but we would not commit ourselves to hi We read, that the arms of Christ were open to embrace and recei us, but we would not. O unparalleled folly ! O soul-destroyi madness! Now the womb of mercy is shut up, and shall bring foi no more mercies to me for ever. Now the gates of grace are sin and no cries can open them.
Mercy acted its part, and is gone off the stage : and now just enters the scene, and will be glorified for ever upon me. How ofl did I hear the bowels of compassion sounding in the gospel for m But my hard and impenitent heart could not relent ; and now, ii could, it is too late. I am now past out of the ocean of mercy, ii the ocean of eternity, where I am fixed in the midst of endl
miser)-, and shall never hear the voice of mercy more !
O dreadful eternity ! O sout-confounding word ! An ocean deed, to which this ocean is but as a drop ; for in thee no soul &h see either bank or bottom. If I lie but one night under strong pa of body, how tedious doth that night seem ! And how do I tell 1 clock, and wish for day ! In the world I might have had life, a
would not And now, how fain would I have death, but cann< How quick were my sms in execution r And how long is tli punisliment in duration .- O ! how shall I dwell with everlasti burnings ? Oh that God would but vouchsafe one treaty more w me ! But alas, all tenders and treaties are now at an end with i On earth peace, Luke ii. 13. but none in hell. O my soul ! consu these thmgs ; come, let us debate tiiis matter seriously, before launch out into this ocean.
HO tl'fini Snmp nicrh mic'rl tnvuof tjow-c tVio rrfntmA
224 A XEW COMPASS FOR SEAMEN ; OR,
The scourge of heli, whose very lash doth rend The damned souls in twain : What ! never end ? The more thereon they ponder, think, and pore, The more, poor wretches, still they howl and roar, Ah ! though more years in torments we should lie Than sands are on the shores, or in the sky Are twinkling stars ; yet this gives some relief !
The hope of ending. Ah! but here's the grief ! A thousand years in torments past and gone, Ten thousand more afresh are coming on ; And when these thousands all their course have ri
The end's no more than when it first begun. Come then, my soul, let us discourse together This weighty point, and tell me plainly whether
You for these short-liv"'d joys, that come and go, Will plunge yourself and me in endless woe. Resolve the question quickly, do not dream More time away. I^o, in an hasty stream We s\\lftly pass, and shortly we shall be Ingulphed both in this eternity.
CHAP. III.
Within these smooth Jhcd seas stravge creatures Ct Bui in mmi's heart Jar stranger than them all.
OBSEAVATIOX.
M T was an unadvised saying of Plato, Mare nil memori cit : the sea produceth nothing memorable. But surely tb of the wisdom, power, and goodness of God manifested
habitants of the waterv region ; notwithstanding the sea'; smiling face, strange creatures are bred in its womb.
** (saith David) how manifold are thy works: In wisdon " made them all ; the earth is full of thy riches. So is thi *' wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, bot " great beasts," Psal. civ. 24, 25. And we read, Lai sea-monsters, which draw out their breasts to their you and Purchas tell incredible stories about them. About tl
Capricorn, our seamen meet with flying fishes, that have ^ rere-mouse, but of a silver colour ; they fly in flocks like sta:
XAVIGATIOX SPiaiTUALIZEB. i;
sword-fish and thresher, that fight with the whale : Eren our o
seas produce creatures of strange shapes, but the commonness ta off the wonder.
APPLICATION'. Thus doth the heart of man naturally swarm and abound w stranore and monstrous lusts and abominations, Rom. i. 29, 30, :
" Be'incr filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickednt •' covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, dec
*' maliornity; whimperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proi " boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, withi
'' understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, i
" placable, unmerciful." O what a swarm is here ! and yet th are multitudes more, in the depths of the heart ! And it is no W( der, considering that with this nature, we received the spawn of i
blackest and \-ilest abominations. This original lust is productive them all, James i. 14, 15. Which lust, though it be in every mi numsrkaUy^ different from that of others, yet it is one and the sa specifically^ for sort and kind, in all the children of Adam; even the reasonable soul, though every man hath his own soul, riz. a s(
individuallv distinct from another man's, yet it is the same for ki in all men. So that whatever abominations are in the hearts a
lives of the vilest Sodomites, and the most profligate wretches unc heaven ; there is the same matter in thy heart out of which they W( shaped and formed. In the depths of the heart they are conceiv< and thence they crawl out of the eves, hands, lips, and all the me
bers, ^lat xv. 18, 19. " Those tlungs (saith Christ) which proce " out of the mouth, come forth from the heart, and defile a m; " For out of tlie heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteri " fornications, thefts, fsdse witness, blasphemies :" even such mc sters as would make a gracious heart tremble to behold. ' Wliat i.
' my lust* (saith one*) but so many toads spitting of venom, a * spawning of |X)ison ; croaking in my judgment, creeping in i will, and crawling into my affections V The apostle in 1 Cor.
tells us of a sin, '* not to be named ;" so monstrous, that natt
If startles at it : even such monsters are generated in the depths
e hearts. AVhence come evils.' was a question that much puzzl the pljilosophers of old. Now here you may see whence they con
and wliei-e thev are begotten.
REFLECTION'.
I^^K Ann firp tnprp Sllrn str^nnri:^ aKoininQtmnc in tlick KoqHrtf mm
A 2sEW COMPASS FOR SEAMEN; OR,
Stately fabric was the soul at first ! And what holy inha sessed the several rooms thereof ! But now, as God speak Isa. xxxiv. 11, "The line of confusion is stretched out ; " the stones of emptiness. The cormorant and bitten *' the owl and tlie raven dwell in it." Yea, as Isa. " The wild beasts of the desart lie there : it is full of i
" tures, the satyrs dance in it, and dragons cry in thot
*' pleasant places.'" O sad change ! how sadly may we h wards our first state ! and take up the words of Job, " were as in months past, as in the days of my youtl " Almighty was yet with me, when I put on righteous
*' clothed me, when my glory was fresh in me,"" Job xi Again, think, O my soul, what a miserable condition nerate abide in ! Thus swarmed and over-run with hellish the dominion and vassalage of divers lusts, Tit. iii. 3. multuous sea is such a soul: how do these lusts rage w how do they contest and scuffle for the throne ! and us by turns : for as all diseases are contrary to health, yet so to each other, so are lusts. Hence poor creatures are h different kinds of servitude, according to the nature of th lust that is in the throne; and, like the lunatic. Mat. x^ times cast into the water, and sometimes into the fire,
the prophet say, " The wicked is like a troubled sea, that
Isa. vii. 20. They have no peace now in the service of shall they have hereafter, when they receive the wages of
" is no peace to the wicked, saith my God." The) Peace, peace ; but my God doth not so. The last issu of this is eternal death ; no sooner is it delivered of its d(
sures, but presently it falls in travail again, and brings Jam. i. 15.
Once more : and is the heart such a sea, abounding
strous abominations .'' Then stand astonished, O my sou^ grace which hath delivered thee from so sad a condition; and kiss the feet of mercy that moved so freely and seasc rescue ? Let my heart be enlarged abundantly here. L(
I, that I should be taken, and others left ? Reflect, O m the conceptions and bursts of lusts in the days of vanity now blushest to own. O what black imaginations, hel vile affections are lodged there ! Who made me to difi came I to be thus wonderfully separated ? Surely, it is grace, and nothing else, that I am what I am ; and by
KAVIGATION SPtRITtAtlZEJ).
THE poe:m.
JriY soui's the sea, wherein, from day to day, Sins like Leviathans do sport and play. Great roaster-lusts, with all the lesser fry, Therein increase, and strangely multiply. Yet strange it is not, sin so last should breed. Since with this nature I receiv'd the seed And spawn of ev'ry species, which was shed Into its caverns first, then nourished By its own native warmth ; which hke the sun
Hath quickened them, and now abroad they come : And hke the frogs of Egypt creep and crawl Into the closest rooms within my soul. My fancy swarms, for there they frisk and play,. In dreams by night, and foohsh toys by day. My judgment's clouded by them, and my will Penerted, every corner they do fill.
As locusts seize on all that's fresh and green. Unclothe the beauteous spring, and make it seem Like drooping autumn ; so my soul, that first
As Eden seem'd, now's like a ground that's curst. Lord purge mv streams, and kill those lusts that he Within them ; if they do not, I must die.
Seas purge themselves^ and cast their Jiltk ashore. But graceless souls retain, and suck in more.
OBSERVAXrOX.
»3EAS are in a continual motion and agitation, they have their fl'
d reflux, by which they are kept from putrefaction : like a ibu lain it cleanses itself, Isa. Ivii. 20. " It cannot rest, but casts i
T^lai
mire and dirt ;"" whereas lakes and ponds, whose waters are stan g, and dead, corrupt and stink. And it is obsersed by seamt
at in the southern parts of the world, w here the sea is more cai and settled, it is more corrupt and unfit for use ; so is the sea Sodom, called the dead sea. i -VTPLICATION.
5 t 1 «
A NEW COMPASS FOU SEAMEN ; OR,
qualitativo, with a qualitative touch, as the loadstone t leaving an impression of its nature behind it. They are c ing in cleanness, Isa. xxxiii. 15. " He despiseth the ga
" sion, he shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, sto| " from hearing blood, and shutteth his eyes from seei how all senses and members are guarded against sin : I contrary with the wicked ; there is no principle of holi
to oppose or expel corruption. It lies in their hearts as ] or well, which settles and corrupts more and more, xlvii. 11. their hearts are compared to miry or marshy cannot be healed, but are given to salt : the meaning is, est streams of the gospel, which cleanse others, make the: before, as abundance of rain will a miry place. The ; cause it meets with an obstacle in their souls, so that i through them and be glorified, as it doth in gracious so means and endeavours used to cleanse them are in vain ;
of God they receive in vain, " they hold fast deceit, tl " let it go,'] Jer. viii. 5. Sin is not in them as floating the sea, which it strives to expel and purge out, but as leopard's skin, Jer. xiii. 21. or letters fashioned and ens very substance of marble orbrass with a pen of iron, a diamond, Jer. xyii. 1. or as ivy in an old M^all, that hat in its very entrails. " Wickedness is sweet to their mou
" it under their tongues," Job xx. 12. No threats nor divorce them from it.
IIEFLECTION.
Lord ! this is the very frame of ray heart, may the ^ say. My corruptions quietly settle in me, my heart laboui them: I am a stranger to.that conflict which is daily mai the faculties of the regenerate soul. Glorified souls have
flict, because grace in them stands alone, and is perfectlj over all op|X)sites ; and graceless souls can have no sucl:
cau«e in them corruption stands alone, and hath no othei
make opposition to it. And this is my case, 0 Lord ! I ai hopes indeed, but had I a living and well-grounded h for ever with so holy a God, I could not but be daily p self But O ! what willt he end of this be ? I have cause
that last and dreadfulest curse in the book of God, Rev. x
" him that is filthy be filthy still." Is it not as much as if
>;avigation spiritualized.
JYaY heart's no fountain, but a standing lake Of putrid waters ; if therein I rake,
By serious search, O ! what a noisome smell, Like exhalations rising out of hell ;
The stinking waters pump'd up from the hold, Are as perfumes to seamen : but my soul Upon the same account that they are glad,
(Its long continuance there) is therefore sad.
The scripture saith, " No soul God's face shall see,'' Till from such filthly lusts it cleansed be. Yet though unclean, it may that way be rid, As Herculus the Augean stable did. Lord turn into my soul that cleansing blood,
Which from my Saviour's side flow'd as a flood. Flow, sacred fountain, brim my banks ; and flow Till you have made my soul as white as snow.
CHAP. V.
Seamen foresee a danger^ and prepare ;
YetJeTx) of' greater dangers are aicare.
OBSERVATION. H. OW watchful and quick-sighted are seamen to prevent dangei if the wind die away, and then fresh up southerly : or if they ; the sky hazy, they provide for a storm : if by the prospective-gl; they know a pirate at a great distance, they clear the gun-roo prepare for fight, and bear up, if able to deal with him ; if n they keep close by the wind, make all the sail they can, and bt away. If they suppose themselves, by their reckoning, near lai how often do they sound ? And if upon a coast with which th
are unacquainted, how careful are they to get a pilot that kno\ ■^■*nd is acquainted with it }
Thus watchful and suspicious ought we to be iu spiritual concer
ments. We should study, and be acquainted with Satan's wl and policy. The apostle takes it for granted, that Christians a Tint irFTir^>-onl- ^+" l-.",.^ A^,.\„^„ O /"<„•, I; 11 ii T"!.^ o^..,-.^r,*\. ^,.^ 1
S30 A NEW COMPASS FOR seamen; ok,
though he have no wisdom to do himself good, yet he enough to do us mischief. He Hes in ambush behind comforts and employments ; yet, for the generality of n pine and careless are they, suspecting no danger ? Thei
Laish dwell carelessly, their senses unguarded; Ow prize, and conquest, doth the devil make of them !
Indeed, if it were with us as with Adam in innocer was with Christ in the days of his flesh (who by reason < flowing fulness of grace that dwelt in him, the purity o and the hypostatical union, was secured from the danger tations) the case then were otherwise ; but we have a tr James i. 14, 15. as well as a tempter without: 1 Pet. \
*' adversary the devil goes about as a roaring lion, seeki
" may devour :"" And, hke the beasts of the forest, p down before him, and become his prey. All the S£ policy, and foresight of some meia, is summoned in t< bodies, and secure their fleshly enjoyments.
REFLECTION.
Lord ! how doth the care, wisdom, and vigilance of poral and external things, c(mdemn mv carelessness in t dear concernments of my precious soul ! what care ai there to secure a perishing life, liberty, or treasure ! thus solicitous for my soul, though its value be inestim danger far greater ! Self-preservation is one of the deepe in nature. There is not the poorest fly, or worm, bi danger, if it can : j^et I am so far from shunning thos which my soul lies continually exposed, that 1 often temptations, and voluntarily expose it to its enemies, how watchful, jealous, and laborious thy people are ; v tears, and groans, searching of heart, mortification of lui . of senses ; and all accounted too little by them. Have
to save or lose eternally, as well as they ? Yet I can fleshly lust, nor withstand one temptation. O how I s
and condemned, not only by other's care and vigila own too, in lesser and lower matters .''
M AM the ship whose bills of lading come To more than man's or anirers art can sum.
KAVIGATION SPIRlTUALIZF.n.
Tcraptatlons give it chace, 'tis grappled sure, And boarded, wliilst it thinks itself secure.
It sleeps, like Jonah, in the dreadful storm,
Altho' its case be dangVous, and forlorn. Lord, rouse my drowsy soul, lest it should knock,
And split itself upon some dangerous rock. If it of faith and conscience shipwreck make, I am undone for ever; soul, awake !
Till thou arrive in heav'n, watch, and fear ; Thou may'st not sav, till then, the coast is dear.
CHAP. VI.
Hoza small a matter turns a ship about.
Yet we, against our conscience, stand it out.
OBSEKVATIOX.
J.T is just matter of admiration, to see so great a body as a shij anel when under sail too, before a fresh and strong wind, by wh it is carried, as the clouds, with marvellous force and speed, yel be commanded with ease, by so small a thing as the helm is. 1 scripture takes noti«e of it as a matter worthy of our considerati Jam. iii. 4. " Behold also the ships, which though they be grt " and driven of fierce winds ; yet they are turned about widi a sn
*• helm, whithersoever the governor listeth." Yea, * Aristotle hi self, that eagle-eyed philosopher, could not give a reason of it, 1 looked upon it as a very marvellous and wonderful thing.
APPLICATIOX.
To the same use and office has God designed conscience in m; which being rectified and regulated by the word and spirit of God to steer and order his whole conversation. Conscience is as the ora
of God, the judge and determiner of our actions, whether they good or evil ? And it lays the strongest obligation upon the creati to obey its dictates, that is imaginable ; for it binds under the reas and consideration of the most absolute and sovereign will of the gr< God. So that as often as conscience from the word convinceth us
any sin or duty, it lays such a bond upon us to obey it, as no po\\ under heaven can relax or dispense with. Angels cannot do it, mu less man ; for that would be to exalt themselves above God. N<
232 A XEW COMPASS TOR SEAMF.K ; Ol?,
necessity of changing their way and course ; arguing i clearest and most allowed maxims of right reason, as wi the indisputable sovereignty of God.
As for instance : it convinceth their very reason thai eternal duration are infinitely to be preferred to all mom perishing things, Rom. viii. 18. Heb. xi, 26. and it is o chuse them, and make all secular and temporary conce stand aside, and give place to them. Yet though men b of this, their stubborn will stands out, and will not yield the conviction.
Further, It argues from this acknowledged truth, thai light and pleasures in this world arc but a miserable porti( it is the highest folly to adventure an immortal soul for
ix. 15. Alas ! what remembrance is there of them in h
are as the waters that pass away. What have they left,
mirth and jollity, but a tormenting sting .''It convinceth tl
also, that in matters of deep concernment it is an high y dom, to apprehend and improve the right seasons and o] of them, Prov. x. 5. " He that gathers in summer is { Eccl. viii. 5. " A wise man's heart discerns both time an(
*' There is a season to every purpose," Eccl. iii. 1. vi: time, an happy juncture, when if a man strikes in, he d( effectually, and with much facility : such seasons cons vinceth the soul of, and often whispers thus in its ear :
strike in, close with this motion of the Spirit, and be hap thou mayest never have such a gale for heaven any m though these be allowed maxims of reason, and consci( them srongly on the soul, yet cannot it prevail ; the proi will rebels, and will not be guided bv it. See Eph. ii. S.
ST. Isa. xlvi. 12. Ezek. ii. 4. Jer. x^liv. 16,
REFLECTION.
Ah ! Lord, such an heart have I had before thee ; thi thus rebellious, so uncontroulable by conscience. Manj conscience thus whisjiered in mine ear, many a time hat
my way, as the angel did in Balaam's, or the chcrubims 1 way of the tree of life with flaming swords turning everj;
hatli it stood to oppose me in the way of my lusts. How calmly debated the case with me alone ? and how sweeti postulated with me ? How clearly hath it convinced of
duty, with strong demonstration ? How terrible hath it
NAVIGATION SPIRITUxVLIZED.
I have violated the strongest bonds that ever were laid upon a ci
ture. If my conscience had not thus convinced and warned,' sin had not been so great and crinison-coloured, Jam. iv. 17. I tJiis is to sin with an high hand, Numb. xv. 80. to come near to great and unpardonable transgression, Psal. xix. 13. O how drt
t'ul a wav of sinning is this, with opened eyes ! and as my sin is t out of measure sinful, so my punishment will be out of measure dn ful, If I persist in tliis rebellion. Lord ! thou hast said, such shal beaten with many stripes, Luke xii. 48. yea. Lord, and if ever my ( science, which by rebellion is now grown silent, should be in judgir awakened in this life ; O ! what an hell should I have witliin me I 1 would it thunder and roar upon me, and surround me with ten
Thy word assures me, that no length of time can wear out ol memory what I have done, Gen. xlii. 21. no violence or foi'ce suppress it. Mat. xxvii. 4. no greatness of power can stifle it ; it take the mightiest monarch by the throat, Exod. x. 16. Dan. v no music, pleasures, or delights, can charm it, Job xx. 22. O c science ! thou art the sweetest friend, or the dreadfullest enem3
the world; thy consolations are incomparably sweet, and thy rors insupportable. Ah ! let me stand it out no longer against c science ; the very ship in which I sail is a confutation of my madn that rushes greedily into sin against both reason and conscience, i will not be commanded by it; surely, O my soul, this will be terness in the end.
xIl SHIP of greatest butthen will obey The rudder ; he that sits at helm, may sway And guide its motion : If the pilot please. The ship bears up, against both wind and seas. My soul's the ship, affections are its sails. Conscience the rudder. Ah ! but Lord, what ails
My naughty heart, to shuffle in and out, When its convictions bid it tack about ? Temptations blow a counter blast, and drive
The vessel where they please, tho' conscience strive. And by its strong persuasions it would force My stubborn will to steer another course. Lord, if I run this course, thy word doth tell How quickly I must needs ai-rive at hell. Then rectify my conscience, change my will ; Fan in thy pleasant srales, my God. and fill
2i^4 A NEW COMPASS FOR SEAMEN ; Offy
CHAP. VII.
Thro' many fears and dangers seamen run, Yet aWsJhrgoUcn zvhen they do retwn.
▼ T E have an elegant and lively description of theii dangers, Psal. cvii. 25, 26, 27. " He commandeth and *' stormy winds, which lift up the waves thereof: the) " to heaven, they go down again to the depths ; tl " melted because of trouble ; they reel to and fro, they
" a drunken man ; they are at their wits end."" Or, as Hebrew, " All wisdom is swallowed up." Suitable 1 that of the poet *.
" The pilot knows not what to chuse, or flee ; " Art stands amaz'd in ambiguity." O what a strange and miraculous deliverance have m had ? How often have they yielded themselves for dea( verily thought the next sea would have swallowed them earnestly then do they cry for mercy.'' and, like the can pray in a storm, though they regard it not at other cvii. 28. Jonah i. 5, 6.
These dreadful storms do at once discover to us the mi
of God in raising them, and the abundant goodness of i serving poor creatures in them.
1. The power of God is graciously manifested in rathe wind is one of the Lord's wonders, Psal. cvii. 24, 2; *' that go down to the sea, see the works of the Lord, ar " ders] in the deep ; for he commandeth and raiseth
*' winds." Yea, ver. 18. God appropriates it as a pecu his ; " he causeth his [wind to blow]." Hence he is said in
*' bring them forth out of his treasury," Psal. cxxxvii. 7 are locked up, and reserved ; not a gust can break forth niand and call for it to go and execute his pleasure : Ye;
to " hold them in his fist," Prov. xxx. 4. What is moi of holding than the wind ? yet God holds it : although it and terrible creature, he controls and rules it : yea, t
NAVIGATION SPIIIITUALIZED. 2
liorse, or chariot ; so tlie Lord, to manifest the greatness of his pow rides upon the wings of the wind, and will be admired in so terril a creature.
And no less of his glorious power appears in remanding the than in raising them. The heathens ascribe this power to their g j^olus, but we know this is the royalty and sole prerogative of t true God who made lieaven and eartii ; it is he that " makes t
" storm a calm,"" Psal. cvii. 29and it is he that shifts and chanj them from point to point, as he pleaseth ; for he Iiath appoint them their circuits, Eccl. i. 6. " The wind goeth towards the sou " and turneth about unto the north ; it whirleth about continual
'' and retiu'neth again according to its circuits.''
2. And as we should adore his power in the winds, so ought we admire his goodness in preserving men in the height of all their fu and violence. O what a marvellous work of God is here ! that m
should be kept in a poor weak vessel, upon the wild and ston ocean, where the wind hath its full stroke upon them, and they i driven before it, as a wreck upon the seas ; yet, I say, that G should preserve you there, is a work of infinite goodness and pow That those winds which do rend the very earth, mountains, and roc
1 Kings xix. 11. " Breaks the cedars, yea, the cedars of Leban(
" shakes the wilderness, and makes the hinds to calve,"" Psal. xx 5, 8, 9. which naturalists say bring forth with greatest difficult surely your preseivation, in such tempests, is an astonishing work mercy. O how dreadful is this creature, the wind, sometimes you ! and how doth it make your hearts shake within you ? If I a plank spring, or a bolt give way, vou are all lost. Sometimes t Lord, for the magnifying of the riches of his goodness upon yc drives you to such exigencies, that, as Paul speaks, in a like ca
Acts xxvii. 20. " All hope of being saved is taken away ;"" nothi but death before your eyes. The Lord commands a wind out of I treasury, bids it go and lift up the terrible waves, lock you in up the shore, and drive you ujxin the rocks, so that no art can save yo and then sends you a piece of wreck, or some other means, to la you safe : And all this to give you an experiment of his goodnc and pity, that you may learn to fear that God in whose hand yo soul and breath are.
And it may be, for the present, your hearts are much affecte conscience works strongly, it smites you for sins formerly committc such and such counsels of ministers, or relations slighted. No saith conscience, God is come in this storm to reckon with thee 1
S36 A NEW ctiMFASS FOn SEAMEN ; OK,
REFLECTION.
' How often hath this glorious power and goodness of before me in dreadful storms and tempests at sea ? He I his voice in these stormy winds, and spoken in a terrible them ; yet how little have I been affected with it ? " Th " his way in the whirlwind, and in the stonn,^' Nah. i. 3 he hath walked in ways of judgment and wrath, sending in a moment to hell : but to me in a way of forbearance Ah ! how often have I been upon the very brink of et not God shifted or allayed the wind in a moment, I ha( into hell. What workings of conscience were at preser
And what terrible apprehensions had I then of my et tion ? What vows did I make in that distress .'' And Ik
did I then beg for mercy .'^ But, Lord, though thy vo me, yet have I been the same; yea, added to, and i measure of my sins. Neither the bonds of mercy th( upon me, nor the sacred and solemn vows I have laid i could restrain me from those ways of iniquity, which th so dreadful to me.
Ah ! Lord, whaffan heart have I ? What love, pitj
ness have I sinned against .'' If God had but respited j
long, what a merey were it. Sure I am, the damned w it so ; but to give me such a space to repent, all ! what a mercy is this .'' And do I thus requite the Lord, Deut. : pervert and abuse his goodness thus.'' Surely, O my so the fruit of all thy preservations, they are rather reserval farther and sorer judgments. How dreadfully will ju avenge the quarrel of abused mercy. Josh. xxiv. 20. Ho' did God take it from the Israelites, that they provoked sea. even at the red-sea.? Psal. cvi. 7where God had w deliverance in such a miraculous way. Even thus have I the similitude of their transgressions ; not only against God, but against the love of God. In the last storm h( warning-piece, in the next he may discharge his mui against my soul and body. O my soul ! hath he given
" deliverances as these, and darest thou again break hi " ments," Ezra ix. 13, 14. O let me pay the vows that ] uttered in my distress, lest the Lord recover his glory f way of judgment.
XAVIGATIOX SPlRlTrALT7:Fr.
Into their cabins now the seamen go, And then turns out again, with. What cheer, ho ?
All on a sudden darkened are the skies,
The lamp of heav'n obscured, the ^v^nds doth rise ; Waves swell like mountains ; Now their courage flags.
The masts are crack'd, the canvas tom to rags. The vessel works for life ; anon one cries.
The main masfs gone hy th' board ; another plies The pump, until a third does strike them blank.
With, Sirs, prepare Jur death, xvc've sprung a pilanl', Now to their knees tliey go, and on this wise They beg for mercv, with their loudest cries :
Lord, save us but this once, and thou shalt see What persons, for the future, we will be :
Our former time's mis-spent, but, with a vow, We will encraore, if thou wilt save us now,
To mend what is amiss. The gracious Lord,
Inchn'd to pity, takes them at their word ; The winds into their treasures he doth call.
Rebukes the stormy sea, and brings them all
To theic desired haven : once a-shore. And then their vows are ne'er remembered more. Thus soul's are shipwrecked tho' the bodies live. Unless in time thou true repentance give.
CHAP. VIII.
The navigator shifts his sails to take All zcitidSf but that which Jbr his soul doth maJce.
OBSERVATIOX.
A HE mariner wants no skill and wisdom to improve several wir and make them serviceable to his end ; a bare side wind, by his s in shifting and managing the sails, will serve his turn : He will lose the advantage of one breath or gale, that may be useful to h
I have many times wondered to see two ships sailing in a dii counter motion, by one and the same wind : Their skill and wise herein is admirable.
■K Thus prudent and skilful are men in secular and lower matt
238 A NEW COMFASS FOR. SEAMEN ; OR,
place, south or north, measuring it by the degrees in tl by the second they can tell you the longitude of a pla west, from the Meridian, measuring it by the degrees of t and by the third they can discern the divers risings ani the stars. And so in other arts and sciences, we find n with rare abilities, and singular sagacity. Some have prehensions, solid judgments, stupendous memories, ra and excellent elocution ; but put them upon any spirit tural matter, and the weakest Christian, even a babe in excel them therein, and give a far better account of rege work of grace, the life of faith, than these can. 1 Cor.
" many wise men after the flesh, i^c But God hath *' foolish things of this world," Sfc. REFLECTION.
How inexcusable, then, art thou, O my soul ! and h< confounded must thou needs stand before the bar of
great day ? Thou hadst a talent of natural parts commi but v/hich way have they been improved ? I had an ui indeed, but it was not sanctified ; a memory, but it was that let go the corn, and retained nothing but husks an and invention, but, alas ! none to do myself good. Al these rise in judgment against me, and stop my mouth count shall I give for them in that day ?
Again, are men (otherwise prudent and skilful) such » in spiritual things; Then let the poor, weak Christian, w
parts are blunt and dull, admire the riches of God's free ^ O what an astonishing consideration is this ! that God by men of the profoundest natural parts, and chuse vrn me, whose natural faculties and endowments, compared are but as lead to gold ! Thus under the law he passed and eagle, and chose the lamb and dove. O how shoulc to advance grace, as Christ doth upon the same account,