Upon the fudden withering of beautiful flowers, ibid
The Heavenly Use of Earthly Things.
the affections ofvainman, yet it isas fuddenlyblaſtedas the beautyofa flower†.
" How frail is beauty! Inhow ſhort atime " It fades, like roſes, which have past their prime.
" So wrinkled age,the faireſt face willplow, " And caftdeep furrows on the ſmootheftbrow.
" Then where's that lovelytempting face ? Alas !
" Yourſelves would blush to view it in a glaſs."
Ifthen thou delighteſt inbeauty, O my foul! chuſe that which is laſting.
There is abeauty which never fades, even the beautyofholiness uponthe innerman; this abides freſh andorient for ever, and ſparkles gloriously, when thy face (the feat of natural beauty) is become an abhorrent and loathfome ſpectacle.
Holineſs enamels and ſprinkles overthe face ofthe foul with a beauty, upon which Chriſt himself is enamoured ; even imperfect holiness on earth is a roſe that breathes ſweetly inthe bud; inheaven it will be full-blown, and abide in its prime to all eternity.
MEDIT.
VII.
Upon the tenderness ofsome choiceflowers.
OW much care is neceſſary to preſerve the life of fome H flowers ! they must beboxed up inthe winter, others mustbe covered with glaſſes in their ſpringing up, the finest and richest mould must be fifted aboutthe roots, and affiduouflywatered,andallthis little enough,and fometimes too litde to preferve them; whilſt other common, and worthleſs flowers, grow without any help ofours : Yea, we have no leſs todotorid our gardens of them, thanwe have to make the former growthere.
Thus ſtands the cafe with ourhearts, in reference to themotions ofgraceand fin. Holythoughts ofGod muſtbe affiduouflywateredbyprayer, earthedup by meditation, anddefended by watchfulness ; and yetallthis is ſometimes too little to preſervethem alive inour fouls.
Alas ! theheart is a foilthat † Forma bonum fragile eft, quantumque acceditad annos.
Fitminor,etspatio carpitur ipfafuo.
Necfemper violae, necfemper liliaflorent, Et riget amiſſaſpina relicta rofa Tempus erit quo vosſpeculum vidiſſepigebit,
Jamveniunt rugæquæ tibi corpus arent, &c.
Ovid, deArt, VOL. VI.
Hufbandry Spiritualized ; or, agrees notwiththem, they are tenderthings, anda ſmallmat terwillnip andkill them. To this purpoſe is the complaint ofthe divine Poet.
Whowould have thought ajoy focoy To be offendedfo, andgo So fuddenly away?
Hereafter I had need takeheed.
Joys among other things Havewings, Andwatch their opportunities of flight, Converting in amoment,day to night.
HERBERT.
But vain thoughts, and unholy ſuggeſtions, theſe ſpread themſelves,and rootdeep inthe heart; they naturally agree with the foil : So that it is almost impoffible, at any time, to be rid of them.
It is hard to forget, what is our fin to remember.
MEDIT.
VIII.
Upon the strange means ofpreserving the life of vegetables.
I Obſerve that plants and herbs are ſometimes killed by froſts, and yet without froſts they would neither live nor thrive : They are ſometimes drowned with water, and yet without water they cannot ſubſiſt : They are refreſhed and cheared by the heat ofthe fun, andyetthat fun ſometimes kills and ſcorches them up.
Thus lives myfoul : Troubles and afflictions ſeem to kill all its comforts ; and yet without theſe, its comforts could not live. The ſun-blaſts of profperity ſometimes refreſh me, and yet thoſe ſun-blafts are the likeliestway to wither me : By what seeming contradictions is the life of my ſpirit preſerved ! what a mystery, what a paradox is the life of a Chriſtian ?
Welcome, myhealth, this fickneſs makes me well.
Med'cines adieu.
When with diſeaſes I have lift to dwell, I'll wish for you.
Welcome, my ſtrength, this weakneſs makes me able.
Powers adieu.
The Heavenly Use of Earthly Things.
WhenI am weary grown of ſtanding ſtable, I'llwish foryou.
Welcome, my wealth, this loſs hath gain'dme more.
Riches adieu.
When I again grow greedy to be poor, I'llwish foryou.
Welcome, my credit, this diſgrace is glory.
Honours adieu .
When for renown andfame I shall be forry, :
I'll wish for you.
Welcome content, this ſorrow is myjoy.
Pleaſures adieu.
When I defire ſuch griefs as mayannoy, I'll wish for you.
Health, ſtrength, and riches, credit and content, Are ſparedbeſt ſometimes whenthey are ſpent.
Sickneſs andweakneſs, lofs, diſgrace and forrow, Lendmoſt ſometimes, when moſt they ſeem toborrow.
And ifby theſecontrary and improbable ways the Lordpreferves our fouls in life, no marvel then we find ſuch ſtrange andſeemingly contradictory motions of our hearts, under the various dealings ofGod with us, and are still reſtleſs, in what condition foever he puts us ; which reſtleſs frame was excellently expreſſedin that pious epigram ofthe reverend Gataker, made a little before his death.
I thirst for thirſtineſs, I weep for tears, :
Well pleas'd I am to be diſpleaſedthus :
The only thing I fear, is want of fears, Suſpecting I am not ſuſpicious.
Icannot chuſe but live, becauſe I die ; AndwhenI am not dead,howglad amI ?
Yet when I am thus gladfor ſenſe of pain, And careful am, leſt I ſhould careleſs be ;
Thendo I grieve forbeingglad again, Andfear, left carefulneſs take care for me.
Amiaſt theſe reſtleſs thoughts this reſt I find, For thoſe that reſtnothere, there's reſtbehind.
Jam tetigi portum, valete.
Ff2
[ 228
NAVIGATION
SPIRITUALIZED :
Or, A NEW COMPASS for SEAMEN, Confifting of XXXII. POINTS ; Pleaſant OBSERVATIONS, Of Profitable APPLICATIONS, and Serious REFLECTIONS.
All concludedwith ſo many Spiritual POEMS.
What good might seamen get, if once they were But heavenlyminded ? If they could butsteer
TheChristian's course, the foul might then enjay Sweet peace, they might like feas o'erflow withjay.
WereGodour all, how would our comforts double Upon us ! thus thefeas of all our trouble
Would be divinely sweet : men should endeavour TofeeGod now, and be with himfor ever.
To all Masters, Mariners, and Seamen ; especiallyfuch as belong to the Borough of Clifton, Dartmouth, andHardness, inthe county of Devon.
SIRS, I Find it ſtoried of Anacharſis, thatwhen one afked him whether the living or the dead were more ? He returned this anſwer, You must firſt tellme(faithhe) inwhich num
• ber I must place ſeamen:
Intimating thereby, that ſeamen are, as itwere, a third fort ofperſons,tobe numbered neither with the living northe dead; their liveshanging continually in ſuſpenſebefore them. And itwas ancientlyaccountedthe moſtdeſperateemployment, and theylittlebetter than loftmen thatuſedthe ſeas.
Through allmy life (faithAristotle) three ⚫things do eſpecially repent me:
1. That ever I revealed a ſecret to a woman.
2. That ever I remained one daywithoutawill.
3. That ever Iwentto anyplacebyſea,whither 1,
The Epistle Dedicatory.
Imight have gone by land.'
' Nothing (faith another) is •more miferable, than to fee a virtuous and worthy perfon upon the fea.'
And although custom, andthe great im provementofthe art ofnavigation, have made it leſs formidablenow, yet are you no further from death than you are from thewaters,which is but a remove of two or three inches. Now you thatborder ſonigh upon the confines ofdeath andeternity everymoment, maybewell ſuppoſed tobe menoffingular pietyand ſcriouſneſs: For nothing more compoſes theheart to ſucha frame, than the livelyapprehenfions of eternitydo; and none have greater external advantages for that, thanyou have.
But, alas ! for the generality,what fort ofmen are more ungodly, and ſtupidly inſenſible ofeternal concernments ? living, forthe moſt part, as if they had made a covenant with death, andwithhell were at agreement.
It was an ancient ſaying, Quinefcit orare, difcat navigare, He that knows not how to pray,lethimgoto fea. Butwemayſaynow,(alas ! thatwemay ſayſo in timesof greater light) hethatwouldlearn tobeproe fane, todrink and ſwear, and diſhonourGod,let him go to ſea.
As for prayer, it is a rarethingamong ſeamen, they count that aneedleſs buſineſs: they fee the profane andvile delivered as well as others ; and therefore, what profit is there if they pray untohim ? Mal. iii. 4.
As I remember, I have read of aprofanefoldier,whowas heard ſwearing, thoughhe stood in aplace ofgreatdanger; andwhen one that ſtood byhimwarned him, faying, Fellow-foldier, do not fſwear, the bullets fly ;' he anſwered,
They that ſwear come off as well as they that pray."
Soon after a ſhot hithim,anddownhe fell.
Platodiligently admoniſhed all men to avoid the fea; For (faith he) itis the • ſchoolmaster ofall vice anddishonesty.' Sirs ! it isavery fad confiderationtome,thatyou who float upon thegreat deeps, in whoſebottom ſo many thousand poor miferable creatures lie, whoſe fins have funk them down, not only into the bottom of the fea,butofhell alſo, whitherdivine vengeance hath purfuedthem: Thatyou, I ſay,who daily float, and hoveroverthem, andhave the roaringwaves and billows that ſwallowed them up, gaping for you as the nextprey, ſhouldbe nomore affect edwith theſe things. Oh what aterrible voice doth God utter in the ſtorms ! " It breaks the cedars, ſhakes the wilder- " neſs, makes the hinds tocalve," Pfal. xxix. 5. And can it not ſhake your hearts ? This voice of the Lord is full ofmajeſty,but his voice in theword is more efficacious and powerful, Heb. iv. 12. to convince and rip up the heart.
This word is exalted above all his name, Pfalm cxxxviii. 3. and if
The Epistle Dedicatory. itcannotawakenyou, it is no wonder you remain ſecure and dead, when the Lord utters his voice in the moſtdreadful ſtorms and tempeſts.
But ifneither the voice ofGod uttered inhisdreadfulworks, or inhis glorious goſpel, can effectually awaken and rouze, there is an Euroclydon, a fearful ſtorm coming, whichwill ſo awakenyour fouls, as thatthey ſhall never fleep any more, Pfal. xi. 6. " Upon the wicked he ſhall
" rain ſnares, fire andbrimſtone, and an horrible tempest :
" This is the portion of their cup."
You that have been at ſea inthe moſt violent ſtorms, never felt ſuch a ſtorm as this, andthe Lord grantyou never may ; nocalm ſmall follow this ſtorm.
There are ſome among you, that, I am perfuaded, do trulyfear thatGodinwhoſehandtheir life andbreath is ; men that fear an oath, and are anhonour to their profeffion ; who drivea tradeforheaven, andare diligent to ſecurethehappineſs oftheir immortal ſouls,inthe inſurance-officeabove;but for the generality, alas ! theymindnone oftheſe things. Howmany ofyou are coafting to and fro, from one country to another ?
But never think ofthat heavenly country above, nor how you maygetthemerchandize thereof, which isbetter than the gold ofOphir.
How oft do you tremble to fee the foaming waves dance about you, and wash over you ? Yet confider not how terrible it will be to have all the waves andbillows ofGod's wrath to go overyour fouls, and that for ever. How glad are you after you have been long toſſed upon the ocean, todeſcry land ? And how yare and eagerlydo youlook out for it, who yet never had your hearts warmedwith the confideration of thatjoywhich ſhall be among thefaints, when theyarrive at the heavenly Arand, and ſet foot upon the ſhore ofglory.
O Sirs ! I beg of you, ifyou have any regard to thoſe precious,immortal fouls ofyours,which are alſoimbarked for eternity, whither all winds blowthem, and will quickly be at their portofheavenor hell,thatyou will feriously mindtheſe things, and learn to ſteeryour courſe toheaven, and improve allwinds
(Imean opportunities and means) to waft you thither.
Hereyou venture life and liberty, run through many difficulties and dangers, and all to compaſs aperishing treaſure; yethow oftendo you return diſappointedinyour defign ? Or ifnot, yet it is but a fading ſhort-lived inheritance, which like the flowing tide, for a while, covers the ſhore, and then returns, and leaves itnaked anddry again : andare not everlaſtingtreaſures worth venturing for ? Goodfouls be wife for eternity: I herepreſent you with the fruit of a few ſpare hours, redeemed for your fakes, from my other ſtudies and employ
The Epistle Dedicatory.
ments, which I have put into a new dreſs and mode.
Ihave endeavoured to cloath ſpiritual matters in your own dialect and phrafes, that they might be the more intelligible toyou ; and added ſome pious poems, with which the ſeveral chapters are concluded, tryingby allmeans to affault yourſeveral affections, and as the apostle ſpeaks, "to catch you with guile."
I can fay nothingof it; I know it cannot be without its manifold imperfections, ſince Iam confcious ofſo many in myself; only this I will adventuretoſayofit,that how defective or empty ſoever it beinother reſpects, yet it is ſtuffed and filledwith much true loveto,and earneſt deſires after the ſalvation andprofperity ofyour fouls. And for the other defects that attend it, Ihave only two things to offer, inway ofexcuſe ; it is the firſt eſſay that I evermade inthis kind,whereinI find noprecedent : and itwas haſtned foryour fakes,toofoon out ofmy hands, that it might be ready to wait upon you, when you undertake your
! next voyage: ſothat I couldnot reviſe andpoliſh it. Nor indeedwas I folicitous about the ſtile; I confider, I write not for critical and learned persons; mydeſignis not to pleaſe your fancies any further,than I might thereby get advantageto profit your fouls. I will not once queſtion your welcome receptionof it : ifGod thall bleſs theſe meditations tothe converſionofany among you, you willbe the gainers, andmy heart ſhall rejoice, evenmine. How comfortably fhould we ſhakehands withyou,whenyou go abroad, were we perfuaded yourfoulswere intereſted in Chriſt,andſecuredfrom periſhing, inthe new covenant ? What life would it put intoourprayers for you, when you are abroad, to confider that Jeſus Chriſt is interceding for you inheaven,whilft we areyour remembrancershereonearth ? How quiet would our hearts be, when you are abroad in ſtorms, did weknow you had a ſpecial intereft in himwhom winds and ſeas obey ? To conclude, whatjoy would itbe to your godly relations, to ſee you return new creatures ?
Doubtleſs morethan ifyou came home laden with the riches ofboth Indies.
Come, Sirs ! ſet the heavenlyJerufalem upon the point of your new compass ; make all the fail you can for it ; andthe
Lord give you a profperous gale, and a fafe arrival in that land ofreft.
So prays Your most affectionate friend to ferve you infoul concernments,
JOHN FLAVEI