CHAP XXV
ANew Compassfor Seamen : Or, CHAP .
XXV.
Instorms tospread muchfailendangers all :
So carnalmirth, ifGodfor mourning call.
OBSERVATION.
N ſtorms at ſea, the wiſe navigator will not ſpread much I fail; that is the way to toloſe maſts and all. Theyuſe theu to furlup the fails,and liea hull,when not able to bear a knor offail, or elſe to lie a try, or ſeud before the wind and feas
It is no time then to hoift up the top and top-gallant, and ſhewtheir bravery.
APPLICATION.
When thejudgments ofGod are abroad in the earth, it is no time then to make mirth, Ezek. xxi. 10. " Should we
" [then] make mirth ? Itcontemneththe rod ofmy ſon as e66 very tree." (i. e.)As if it were acommon rod, and ordinary affliction: whereas the rod of my fon is not fuch as may be hadof every tree; but it is aniron rod to fuch as deſpiſe it,
Pfalm ii. 9. O it is a provoking evil, and commonlyGodſeverelypunishes it. Ofall perſons ſuchſpeed worst in the common calamity.
Amos vi. 1. "Woe to them that are ateaſe " in Sion, that are not grieved for the affliction of Joſeph," as ver. 6. It may be (as one obſerves upon the text) they did not laugh at him, or breakjefts upon him ; but theydid not condole witlfhim.
Andwhat fwall betheir punishment ! fee verſe7. "Therefore now shall they go captive with the firft
" that go captive:" God will begin with them firſt.
Solomon tells us, Ecclef. iii. 4. " There is a time to weep,and a " time to laugh ; a time to mourn, and atime to dance ?"
• Only (as mafterTrap notes upon the text)we must not in- •vert theorder, butweep with men, thatwemay laugh with * angels.'
To be merry and frolic in aday oftribulation, is to disturb the order of ſeaſons.
That is a terrible text, Ifa. xxii. 12. which ſhould make the hearts of fuchs are guilty in thiskind totremble : " Inthat daydid the Lord ofhofts call
" tomourning, and to girding with fackloth ; andbehold,joy " and gladness, flayingoxen, killing sheep, drinkingwine,"
&c.
Well, what is the iſſue of this ? " Surely, this iniquity "ſhall not bepurgedfromyoutillyedie." Odreadful word! furely(my brethren) ſympathy is a debt we owe to Chrift myftical.
Whatever our conftitution, condition, or perfonal immunities be, yet when Godcalls for mourning, wemust
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hearandobeythat call. Davidwas aking, anexpert muſician, aman ofa fanguine, and chearful conftitution ; yet who more fenfible of the evil ofthoſe times than he? Rivers of water ran down his eyes at the confideration of them.
Melanchon was ſo affected with the miſeries of the church in his days, that he ſeemed to take little or no notice ofthe death ofhis child, whomhe entirely loved. At ſuch atimewemay " ſay
" oflaughter, thou artmad, and of mirth, what doth it."
REFLECTION.
Bluſh then, O myfoul ! for thy levity and inſenſibility under God's angrydiſpenſations. How many ofthe precious ſons and daughters ofSion, lie in tears abroad, while Ihave been "nourishing myheart, as in a day of flaughter ? The " voice ofGod hath cried to the city, andmen of underſtand- " inghave heard its voice," Micah vi. 9.
But I have been deaf to that cry. How loth (myGod)haveIbeentourgemy fenſual heart to acts of forrow and mourning ! Thou hast bid me weepwith them thatweep,but my vain heart cannot comply with ſuch commands. Ab, Lord! IfI mourn not with Sion, neither ſhall Irejoicewith her.
O,weremine eyes opened, and my heart ſenſible and tender, Imight fee cauſe enough to melt into tears! and like that Chriſtian Niobe, Luke vii. 38. to lie weeping at the feet of Chrift.
Lord, what ſtupidity is this ! ſhall laugh, when thou art angry, and thy children weeping and trembling ? Then I mayjuſtly fear, left " when they ſhall fing forjoy of heart, I " ſhall howl for vexation ofſpirit," Ifa. lxv. 13, 14. Surely,O my ſoul! fuch laughter will be tarnedinto mourning, either here or hereafter.
The POEM.
Ntroublous times,mirth in the ſinner's face I Is like a mourning-cloak with filver-lace.
The lion's roaringmakes the beaſts to quake :
God's roaringjudgments cannot makeus shake.
What belluine contempt is this ofGod, To laugh in's face,whenhe takes up the rod ?
Such laughterGodin tears will ſurely drown, (Unleſs he hate thee) e'er he lay it down.
Theſe rods have voices, ifthou hear them well ; Ifnot, another rod's prepar'd in hell :
And whenthe arm ofGod fhall lay it on, Laugh if thou canst; no,thenthy mirth is gone.
A New Compass for Seamen : От All Sion's children will lament and cry, When all her beauteous stones in duſtdo lie ?
Andhe that forher then laments andmourns, Shallwant nojoy,whenGod to her returns.
CHAP XXVI.
A littleleak neglected, dangerous proves :
Onefin connived at, thefoulundoes.
OBSERVATION.
HE ſmalleſt leak, ifnottimelydiscovered and ſtopt, is T enoughtofink a ſhip ofthe greatest burden: Therefore ſeamen are wont frequently to try what water is in the hold; and ifthey find it freſh, and increaſing upon them, they ply thepump, andpreſently ſet the carpenters to ſearch for itand ſtop it ; andtill itbefound they cannot bequiet.
APPLICATION.
What fuch a leak is toaſhip, that is the finalleſt ſin neglec ted to the foul ; it is enough to ruin it eternally.
For as the greateft fin, diſcovered, lamented,andmourned overby abeliever, cannot ruinhim ; ſothe leaſtſin indulged, covered, and connived at, will certainlyprove the deftruction ofthe finner.
No fin, though never ſo ſmall, is toleratedby thepure and perfect law of God, Pfalm cxix. 96. The commandisexceeding broad ; not as ifitgavemena latitude to walk as they pleaſe, but broad, (i. e.) extending itſelf to all our words, thoughts, actions, and affections: Layinga law upon them all; conniving at no evil in anyman, I Pet. ii. 1 .
And as the word gives no allowance for the leaſt fin, ſo it is the very nature of fincerity and uprightness, toſet the heart against [every] way of wickedneſs, Pfalm cxxxix. 23, 24.
Job xxxi. 13. and eſpecially against that fin whichwas its darling in the days of his vanity, Pfalm xviii. 23.
True hatred (as the philoſopher obſerves) is of the whole * kind; He that hates fin, as fin, and ſo doth every upright foul, hateş all fins as well as fome.
Again, the foul thathath had a ſaving fight ofJeſus Chriſt, and a true diſcoveryofthe evil of fin, in the glass both ofthe law andgoſpel, can account no ſin ſmall. He knows the demerit of the ſmalleſt ſin is God's eternal wrath, and that not the leaft fincanberemitted, without theſhedding and applica
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tion oftheblood of Christ, Heb. ix. 22. which blood is of infinite value and price, I Pet. i. 19.
To conclude, God's people know, that little as well as great fins, are dangerous, deadly, and deftructive in their own na ture; a little poiſon will destroy aman . Adrianwas choaked with a gnat, Caefar ſtabbed with bodkins. Amanwould think
Adam's finhad been nogreat matter,yet what dreadfulwork did itmake! Itwas not as a fingle bullet, to killhimſelfonly; but as a chain-ſhot,which cut offall his poor, miferable pofterity.
Indeed, no fin çanbe little, becauſe its object, against whom it iscommitted, is ſo great, whence it receives a kind ofinfiniteneſs in itſelf, and becauſe the pricepaid to redeem us. from it is ſo invaluable.
REFLECTION.
And is the ſmallest fin not only damning in itsown nature, but will certainly prove the ruin ofthat foul that hides and covers it ; O then let my ſpirit accomplish adiligent ſearch.
Look to it, O myfoul ! that no finbe indulged by thee; fet theſe confiderations as ſo many flaming ſwords inthe way of thy carnaldelights and lufts: Letme never fay of any fin, as Lot did of Zoar, " It is a little one, ſpare it." Shall I fpare that which coſt the blood of Jeſus Chriſt ? The Lord would not ſpare him, " When he made his foul an offering for fin,"
Rom. viii. 32. Neither will he ſpare me, ifI defend andhide it, Deut. xxix. 20. Ah ! ifmyheart were right, andmy converſation found, that luft, whatever it be, that is ſo favouredby me, would eſpeciallybe abhorred, and hated, Ifa. ii. 20. and xxx. 22. Whatevermy convictions and reformations havebeen, yetiftherebebut one finretained, anddelighted in, this keeps the devil's intereſt ſtill inmy soul. Andthough for a time he ſeem todepart, yet atlaſthe will return with ſeven worſe ſpirits, and this is the fin that will open the door to him, and deliver up my foul, Matth. xii. 43, 44.
Lord, let memake thorough work ofit; let me cut it off, and pluck it out, though it be as arighthand, or eye. Ah! ſhall I comeſo nearthe kingdom ofGod, andmake fuch a fair offer for Chrift , and yet ſtick at a ſmall matter, and loſe allfor want of one thing ? Lord, let me ſhed theblood of the dearest luft, for his fake that ſhed his dearest blood for me !
The POEM.
Here's many a foul eternally undone
Butwe aremuch deceiv'd; nofin is ſmall,
A New Compass for Seamen: Or, That wounds ſo great aGod, ſodear afoul.
Yet ſay itwere, the finalleſt pen-knife may, As well as fword, or lance,diſpatch andſlay.
And ſhallſo ſmall a matter part and ſever Chriſt andthy foul? What! make you part for ever ?
Or wiltthou ſtand on toys with him,whenhe Deny'dhimselfin greatestthings for thee ?
Or will itbe an eaſe in hell to think How easily thyfoul therein did fink ?
AreChriſtandhell for trifles foldand bought?
Strike fouls with trembling, Lord, at ſuchathought!
By little ſins, belov'd, theſoul is loſt, Unleſs ſuch finsdogreat repentance coſt.
CHAP.
XXVII.
Ships makemuch way when they a trade-windget ; Withfuch a wind thefaints haveever met.
OBSERVATION.
Hough Hough in moſt partsofthe worldthewinds arevariable, andſometimes blow from everypoint of the compaſs, byreaſon whereof, failing is flow, anddangerous ; yet about the Equinoctial, ſeamen meet with atrade-wind, blowing, for the moſt part, one way ; and there they ſail jocund before it, and ſcarce need to lower a top-fail for fome hundreds of leagues.
APPLICATION.
Although the people ofGodmeet withmanyfeeming rubs and fet-backs in their wayto heaven,which are like contrary winds toa ſhip; yet arethey from the dayoftheir converfion, totheday of their complete ſalvation, never out of a tradewind'sway to heaven. Rom. viii. 21. " We know that all
" things work together for good, tothem that love God, to " them thatare called according to his purpoſe."
This is a moſt precious ſcripture, pregnant with its conſolation to all believers in all conditions, apillar ofcomfort to all diſtreffed faints : Let us look a little nearer to it.
(Weknow) Markthe certainty and evidenceofthe propofition, which is notbuilt upon agueſs or remote probability,but upon the knowledgeof the faints ; we know it, and thatipartly bydivine revelation,God has told us ſo; and partlyby our own experience, we findit ſo.
(That all things) Not onlythings that lie ina natural and
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direct tendency to our good ; as ordinances, promises, bleſſings, &c. but even fuch things as have no natural fitneſs and tendency to fuch an end ; as afflictions, temptations, corruptions, desertions, &c. all theſe help onward.
They (Work together.) Not all ofthem directly, and oftheir own nature and inclination ; but by being over-ruled, and determinedto fuch an iſſueby the gracious hand ofGod : Nor yet do they work out fuch good to the faints, fingly, andapart, but as adjuvant cauſes or helps, ſtanding under, and working infubordination to the ſupreme and principal cauſe oftheir happineſs.
Now, the moſt ſeeming oppoſite things, yea, ſin in itſelf, which in its own nature is really oppoſite to their good, yet eventually contributes to it. Afflictions and deſertions ſeem to work againſt us,butbeing once put intothe rank and order of cauſes,they work together with ſuch bleſſed inſtruments, as word and prayer, to an happy iſſue. Andthough the faces of
theſe things, that ſo agree and work together, look contrary ways ; yetthere are, as it were, ſecret chains and connexions of providence betwixt them, to unite them in their iſſue.
Theremaybe many inſtruments employed about onework, andyet notcommunicate counſels, or hold intelligencewith each other.
Joſeph's brethren, the Midianites, Potiphar, &c. knew not one another's mind, nor aimed at one end, (much lefs theend thatGod brought aboutbythem) one acts out of revenge, another forgain, a third out ofpolicy ; yet all meet together at laft, in thatiſſueGodhaddeſigned tobring aboutby them, even Joſeph's advancement. Even ſo it is here, Chriftian, there are more inſtruments atwork for thine eternalgood, than thou art aware of.
REFLECTION.
Chearup then,O my foul, and lean upon this pillar ofcomfort inall diſtreſſes.
Here is apromife forme, ifI am acalled one; that, like thephiloſopher's stone, turns all into gold it toucheth.
This promiſe is my ſecurity; however things go in theworld, myGod " willdo me no hurt," Jer. xxv. 6. Nay, hewilldo megoodby every difpenfation. "O thatI hadbut
" anheart to make all things work for his glory, that thus " cauſeth everything towork for my good." My God, doft thou turn everything to myadvantage ? O let me return allto thy praife; and ifby every thing thou work my eternal good, then let me ineverything give thanks.
But ah! howfoolishand ignorant have I been ? even as a beaft before thee. Howhath myheartbeendiſquieted, and apt to repineatthydiſpenſations,whentheyhave croffedmywi
A New Compassfor Seamen : Or, not confidering that myGod faithfullypursues my good,even in thosethings that croſs, as well as in that which pleaſes me.
Bleffed Lord ! what ableſſed condition are allthy people in, who are within the line ofthis promife ? All things friendly andbeneficial tothem ; friends helpful; enemies helpful; every thing confpiring, and conducing to their happineſs. With others it is not fo ; nothing works for their good; nay, every thing works against it : their very verymercies are ſnares,andtheir profperity deſtroys them; Prov. i. 32. even the bleſſed goſpel itſelfis a favour ofdeath to them : when evil befals them, " it is
" an only evil," Ezek. vii. 5. that is, notturned into good to them ; and as their evils are not turned into good, ſo all their good isturned into evil. As this promiſe hath an influence into all that concerns the people ofGod, ſo the curſe hath an influence into allthe enjoyments of the wicked. O my foul, bleſs the Lord,whohath caftthy lot intofuch apleasant place, and given thee ſuch aglorious heritage, as this promiſe is .
W The POEM.
HEN once thedog ſtar riſes, many fay, Corn ripens thenapace, both night and day.
Souls once in Chriſt, that morning-ſtar lets fall Such influences on them, that all God's diſpenſations to themthen, ſweet or four,
Ripen their fouls for glory ev'ry hour.
All their afflictions, rightly understood, Are bleſſings ; ev'ry wind will blowfomegood.
•Sure at their troubles faints would never grudge, Were ſenſe depoſed, and faith made thejudge.
Falls make them warier, amend their pace ; When gifts puffup theirhearts, andweaken grace.
CouldSatan ſeethe iſſue, and th' event Of his temptations, he would ſcarcely tempt.
Could faints but fee what fruits their troubles bring, Amidst thoſe troubles they would ſhoutand fing.
O facred wisdom ! who can but admire To fee how thou doſt ſave from fire, by fire !
Nodoubtbut faints in glorywond'ring ſtand At thoſe ſtrange methods few now understand.