horfe, or chariot; fo the Lord, to manifeft the greatness of his power, rides upon the wings of the wind, and will be admired in fo ter rible a creature. And no lefs of his glorious power appears in remanding them, than in raifing them. The heathens afcribe this power to their god Eolus, but we know this is the royalty and fole prerogative of the true God who made heaven and earth; it is he that "makes the ftorm a "calm," Pfal. cvii. 29. and it is he that fhifts and changes them from point to point, as he pleafeth; for he hath appointed them their circuits, Ecclef. i. 6. «The wind goeth towards the south, and turn"eth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and re"turneth again according to its circuits." 2. And as we fhould adore his power in the winds, fo ought we to admire his goodness in preserving men in the height of all their fury and violence. O what a marvellous work of God is here! that men fhould be kept in a poor weak veffel, upon the wild and stormy ocean, where the wind hath its full ftroke upon them, and they are driven before it, as a wreck upon the feas; yet, I fay, that God should preferve you there, is a work of infinite goodness and power. That thofe winds which do rend the very earth, mountains, and rocks, 1 Kings xix. 11. "Break the cedars, yea, the cedars of Lebanon, "hake the wildernefs, and make the hinds to calve," Pfal. xxix. 5, 8, 9. which naturalifts fay bring forth with greateft difficulty; furely your prefervation, in fuch tempefts, is an astonishing work of mercy. O how dreadful is this creature, the wind, fometimes to you! and how doth it make your hearts shake within you? If but a plank fpring, or a bolt give way, you are all loft. Sometimes the Lord, for the magnifying of the riches of his goodness upon you, drives you to fuch exigencies, that, as Paul speaks, in a like cafe, Acts xxvii. 20. "All hope of being faved is taken away;" nothing but death before your eyes. The Lord commands a wind out of his treafury, bids it go and lift up the terrible waves, lock you in upon the fhore, and drive you upon the rocks, fo that no art can fave you; and then fends you a piece of wreck, or fome other means, to land you fafe: And all this to give you an experiment of his goodness and pity, that you may learn to fear that God in whofe hand your foul and breath are. And it may be, for the prefent, your hearts are much affected; confcience works ftrongly, it faites you for fins formerly committed, fuch and fuch counfels of minifters, or relations flighted. Now, faith confcience, God is come in this ftorm to reckon with thee for thefe things. But, alas! all this is but a morning dew; no fooner is that ftorm without allayed, but all is quiet within too. How little of the goodness of God abides kindly, and effectually upon the heart? REFLECTION. How often hath this glorious power and goodness of God paffed before me in dreadful storms and tempefts at fea? He hath uttered his voice in thefe ftormy winds, and fpcken in a terrible manner by them; yet how little have I been affected with it? «The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind, and in the ftorm,” Nah. i. 3. To fome he hath walked in ways of judgment and wrath, fending them down in a moment to hell: but to me in a way of forbearance and mercy. Ah! how often have I been upon the very brink of eternity! had not God fhifted or allayed the wind in a moment, I had gone down into hell. What workings of confcience were at present upon me? And what terrible apprehenfions had I then of my eternal condition? What vows did I make in that diftrefs? And how earneftly did I then beg for mercy? But, Lord, though thy vows are upon me, yet have I been the fame ; yea, added to, and filled up the measure of my fins. Neither the bonds of mercy thou haft laid upon me, nor the facred and folemn vows I have laid upon myself, could restrain me from those ways of iniquity, which then appeared fo dreadful to me. Ah! Lord, what an heart have I? What love, pity, and goodnefs have I finned againft? If God had but refpited judgment fo long, what a mercy were it. Sure I am, the damned would account it fo; but to give me fuch a space to repent, ah! what an invaluable mercy is this? And do I thus requite the Lord, Deut. xxxii. 6. and pervert and abuse his goodness thus? Surely, O my foul, if this be the fruit of all thy prefervations, they are rather refervations to fome farther and forer judgments. How dreadfully will justice at last avenge the quarrel of abused mercy, Josh. xxiv. 20. How grievously did God take it from the Ifraelites, that they provoked him at the fea, even at the red-fea? Pfal. cvi. 7. where God had wrought their deliverance in fuch a miraculous way. Even thus have I finned after the fimilitude of their tranfgreffions; not only against the laws of God, but against the love of God. In the last ftorm he shot off his warning-piece, in the next he may discharge his murdering-piece against my foul and body O my foul! hath he given thee "fuch "deliverances as these, and dareft thou again break his commandments," "Ezra ix. 13, 14. O let nie pay the vows that my lips have uttered in my distress, left the Lord recover his glory from me in a way of judgment. TH THE POEM. HE fhip that now fails trim before a wind, Into their cabins now the feamen go, And then turn out again with-What cheer, ho? The lamp of heav'n obfcur'd, the winds do rife; Waves fwell like mountains: Now their courage flags, And then their vows are ne'er remember'd more. THE CHAP. VIII. The navigator fhifts his fails to take All winds but that which for his foul doth make. OBSERVATION. HE mariner wants no skill and wisdom to improve feveral winds, and make them ferviceable to his end; a bare fide wind, by his skill in shifting and managing the fails, will ferve his turn: He will not lose the advantage of one breath or gale that may be useful to him. I have many times wondered to fee two fhips failing in a direct counter motion, by one and the fame wind: Their skill and wisdom herein is admirable. APPLICATION. Thus prudent and skilful are men in fecular and lower matters, and yet how ignorant and unskilful in the great and everlasting affairs of their fouls! All their invention, judgment, wit, and memory, feem to be preffed for the fervice of the flesh. They can learn an art quickly, and arrive to a great deal of exactness in it; but in foul matters no knowledge at all. They can understand the Equator, Meridian, and Horizon; by the first they can tell the latitude of any place, fouth, or north, meafuring it by the degrees in the Meridian; by the second they can tell you the longitude of a place, east and weft, from the Meridian, meafuring it by the degrees of the Equator; and by the third they can difcern the divers rilings and fettings of the ftars. And fo in other arts and sciences we find men endowed with rare abilities aud fingular fagacity. Some have piercing apprehenfions, folid judgments, ftupendous memories, rare invention, and excellent elocution; but put them upon any fpiritual, fupernatural matter, and the weakest Chriftian, even a babe in Chrift, fhall excel them therein, and give a far better account of regeneration, the work of grace, the life of faith, than these can. 1 Cor. i. 20. "Not many wife men "after the flesh, &c. But God hath chofen the foolish things of this "world," &c. REFLECTION. How inexcufable then art thou, O my foul! and how mute and confounded muft thou needs ftand before the bar of God in that great day? Thou haft a talent of natural parts committed to thee, but which way have they been improved? I had an underftanding indeed, but it was not fanctified; a menory, but it was like a fieve, that let go the corn, and retained nothing but hufks and chaff; wit and invention, but, alas! none to do myfelf good. Ah! how will thefe rife in judgment against me, and stop my mouth? What account shall I give for them in that day? Again, are men (otherwife prudent and fkilful) fuch fots and fools in fpiritual things? Then let the poor, weak Chriftian, whofe natural parts are blunt and dull, admire the riches of God's free grace to him. O what an aftonishing confideration is this! that God fhould pafs by men of the profoundeft natural parts, and chuse me, even poor me, whofe natural faculties and endowments, compared with theirs, are but as lead to gold? Thus under the law he paffed by the lion and eagle, and chofe the lamb and dove. O how thould it make me to advance grace, as Chrift doth upon the fame account, Mat. xi. 25. "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou "haft hid these things from the wife and prudent, and revealed them to babes." And let it ever be an humbling confideration to me; for who made me to differ? Is not this one principal thing God aims at, in calling fuch as I am, that boafting may be excluded, and himself alone exalted? Ο THE POEM. NE thing doth very much affect my mind, To fee the feaman husband ev'ry wind: If a direct or fore right gale he want, A fide wind ferves his turn, tho' ne'er lo fcant. A dreadful ftorm: How foon, no man can tell; CHAP. IX. If feamen lofe a gale, there they may lie; OBSERVATION. EAMEN are very watchful to take their opportunity of wind and tide, and it much concerns them fo to be; the neglect of a few hours, fometimes lofes them their paffage, and proves a great detriment to them. They know the wind is an uncertain, variable thing; they must take it when they may they are unwilling to lofe one flow or breath, that may be serviceable to them. If a profperous gale offers, and they not ready, it repents them to lofe it, as much as it would repent us to fee a veffel of good wine or beer, tapped and run to waste. APPLICATION. There are also feasons and gales of grace for our fouls, golden opportunities of falvation afforded to men, the neglect of which proves the lofs and ruin of fouls. God hath given unto man a day of vifitation, which he hath limited, Heb. iv. 7. and keeps an exact account of every year, month, and day, that we have enjoyed it, Luke xiii. 7. Jer. xxv. 3. Luke xix. 42. The longest date of it can but be the time of this life; this is our day to work in, Job ix. 4. and upon this fmall wire the weight of eternity hangs. But fometimes the season of grace is ended, before the night of death comes; the accepted time is gone, men frequently outlive it, Luke xix. 44, 2 Cor. |