CHAP. XX. Chrift, with a word, can furging waves appeafe: OBSERVATION THEN the fea works, and is tempeftuous, it is not in the pow Wer of any creature to appease it. When the Egyptians would by their hieroglyphics exprefs an impoffibility, they did it by the picture of a man treading upon the waves. It is ftoried of Canute, an antient Danish king, that when a mighty ftorm of flattery arose upon him, he appeafed it by fhewing that he could not appease the sea : But one of his courtiers told him as he rode near the fea-fide, That he was Lord of the fea as well as land.' Well, (faid the 'king) we shall fee that by and by;' and fo went to the water-fide, and with a loud voice cried, O ye feas and waves, come no further, touch not my feet.' But the fea came up, notwithstanding that charge, and confuted the flattery. But now Jefus Christ hath command of them indeed: It is faid of him, Matth. viii. 20, That he rebuked them. And Mark iv. 38. He quiets them with a word, Peace, be ftill; as one would hufh a child, and it obeyed him. APPLICATION. Confcience, when awakened by the terrors of the Lord, is like a raging tempeftuous fea; fo it works, fo it roars, and it is not in the power of all creatures to hush or quiet it. Spiritual terrors, as well as fpiritual confolations are not known till felt. O when the arrows of the Almighty are shot into the spirit, and the terrors of God fet themselves in array against the foul; when the venom of thofe arrows drink up the fpirits, and thofe armies of terrors charge violently and fucceffively upon it, as Job vi. 4. What creature then is able to stand before them! Even God's own dear children have felt fuch terrors as have diffracted them, Pfal. lxxxi. 15. Confcience is the feat of guilt it is like a burning glaís, fo it contracts the beams of the threatnings, twifts them together, and reflects them on the foul, until it fimoke, fcorch, and flame. If the wrath of a king be like the roaring of a lion, then what is the Almighty's wrath! which is burning wrath, Job xix. 11. Tearing wrath, Pfal. 1. 22. Surprizing wrath, Job xx. 23. And abiding wrath, Job iii. 36. In this cafe no creature can relieve: all are phylicians of no value; fome under these terrors have thought hell more tolerable, and by a violent hand have thrust themfelves out of the world into it to avoid thefe gnawings: Yet Jefus Chrift can quickly calm these myftical waves alfo, and hufh them with a word; yea, he is the Physician, ani no other. It is the fprinkling of his blood, which, like a cooling fomentation, allays thofe heats within: That blood of fprinkling speaks peace, when all others have practifed upon the foul to no purpofe; and the reafon is, because he is a Perfon in whom God and man, juftice and mercy meet and kifs each other, Eph. ii. 14. And hence faith fetches in peace to the foul, Rom. v. 1. REFLECTION. . Can none appease a troubled confcience but Chrift? Then learn, O my foul, to understand, and daily more and more to favour that glorious name, even Jefus, that delivers not only from the wrath to come, but that which is felt here alfo. O, if the foretaste of hell be so intolerable, if a few drops, let fall on the confcience in this life, be fo fcalding and infufferable, what is it to have all the vials poured out to eternity, when there fhall be nothing to divert, mitigate, or allay it? Here men have fomewhat to abate those terrors, fome hopes of mercy, at least a poffibility; but there is none. O my foul! how art thou loaded with guilt! and what a Magormissabib wouldft thou be, fhould God rouze that sleepy lion in thy bofom! My condition is not at all the better becaufe my confcience is quiet. Ah! the day is coming when it must awake, and will lighten and thunder terribly within me, if I get not into Chrift the fooner. O Lord, who knows the power of thy wrath? O let me not carry this guilt out of the world with me, to maintain thofe everlafting flames, let me give no fleep to mine eyes, nor flumber to mine eye-lids, till I feel the comfort of that blood of fprinkling, which alone fpeaketh peace. A THE POEM. MONG the dreadful works of God, I find No metaphors to paint a troubled mind. O confcience! who can ftand before thy power, These in themselves no comfort can afford, "Tis Chrift, and none but Chrift, can speak the word. And he no fooner fpeaks but all is ftill, The ftorm is over, and the mind tranquil. There goes a pow'r, with his majestic voice, THE CHAP. XXI. Our food out of the fea God doth command ; OBSERVATION. HE providence of God in furnishing us with fuch plenty and variety of fish, is not flightly to be paft over. We have not only several forts of fish in our own feas, which are caught in their feafons; but from feveral parts, especially the western parts of England, many fail of fhips are fent yearly to the American parts of the world; as Newfoundland, New-England, &c. Whence every year is brought home, not only enough to fupply our own nation, but many thousand pounds worth alfo yearly returned from Spain, and other countries; by which trade many thousand families do fubfift. APPLICATION. But now, what returns do we make to heaven for thefe mercies? O what notice is taken of the good hand of Providence, which thus supplies and feeds us with the bleffings of the fea? I fear there are but few that own, or act in fubmiffion to it, and are careful to return, according to received benefit. Men do not confider, "That their "works are in the hand of God," Eccl. ix. 1. And even those that have the most immediate dependence upon Providence, as merchants and feamen, yet are very prone to undertake designs in the confidence of their own wifdom and industry; not looking higher for the bleffing, Jam. iv. 13. They often "facrifice to their own net, and burn "incenfe to their drag, because by them their portion is fat, and "their meat plenteous," Hab. i. 16. viz. They attribute what is due to God unto the creature: now this is a fin highly provoking to the Lord; for look in what degree the heart cleaves to the fecond cause, in the fame degree it departs from the living God, Jer. x. 5. And how do you think the bleffed God will take it, to fee himself thus debased, and the creature thus exalted into his place; to fee you carry yourselves to the creature as to a God, and to the bleffed God as to a creature. Surely, it is a great and common evil, and fuch as will blast all, if not timely difcovered and lamented. If we make flesh our arm, it is juft with God to wither and dry up the Do we not, my brethren, look upon fecond caufes as if they had the main ftroke in our bufinefs? And with a neglective eye pass by God, as if he came in but collaterally, and on the bye, into it ? VOL. V. arm. M m But certainly all endeavours will be unfanctified, if not fuccefslefs, in which God is not eyed and engaged. "It is in vain for you to rife up early, and fit up late, and eat the "bread of forrows; for fo he giveth his beloved fleep," Pfalm cxxxvii. 2. i. e. It is to no purpose for men to beat their brains, tire their spirits, and rack their consciences for an estate. The true way of acquiring and enjoying the creature, is by fubmitting quietly to the will of God, in a prudent and diligent, yet moderate ufe of lawful means: Nothing can thrive with us till then. REFLECTION. Why then fhould I difquiet myself in vain; and rob myself of my peace, by these unbelieving cares and diftractions? O this hath been. my fin! I have acted, as if my condition had been at my own difpofe; I have eyed creatures and means too much, and God too little. How have my hands hanged down with difcouragement, when fecond causes have disappeared, or wrought croís to my designs in the world, ready to transfer the fault on this thing, or that! And again, how apt am I to be vainly lifted up in carnal confidence, when I fee myself competently furnished with creature munition and provifion? Oh, what a God-provoking wickedness is this! How oft hath, providence checked my carnal prefumption, and dashed many hopeful projects? Yet have I not owned it, as I ought, and fubmitted to it. Oh, it is a wonder this hath not clofed the hand of providence against me, and pulled down a curfe upon all! Ah Lord, let me now learn, "to ac"quaint myfelf with thee, then fhall I decree a thing, and it fhall "be eftablifhed," Job xxii. 28. THE POEM. N all the gifts of God we should advance His glorious name; not fay, it came by chance. Or to the idol of our prudence pay The tribute of our praife, and go our way. The waves do clap their hands, and in their kind This is your manner, thus to work you go: T CHAP. XXII. Whilft thou by art the filly fifh doft kill, OBSERVATION. HERE is fkill in fifhing; they that go to fea in a fishing voyage, ufe to go provided with their craft (as they very fitly call it) without which they can do nothing. They have their lines, hooks of feveral fizes, and their bait. They carefully obferve their seasons; when the fish fall in, then they ply their business day and night. APPLICATION But how much more skilful and induftrious is Satan to enfnare and destroy fouls? The devil makes a voyage as well as you; he hath his baits for you, as you have for the filh: He hath his devices and wiles to catch fouls, 2 Cor. ii, 11. Ephef. vi. 11. He is a ferpent, an old ferpent, Rev. xii. 9. Too crafty for man in his perfection, much more in his collapfed and degenerated ftate, his understanding being cracked by the fall, and all his faculties poifoned and perverted. Divines obferve four fteps, or degrees of Satan's tempting power: First, He can find out the constitution-evils of men; he knows to what fin their natures are more especially prone, and inclinable. Secondly, He can propound suitable objects to those lufts, he can exactly and fully hit every man's humour; as Agrippina mixed her poison in that meat her husband loved belt. Thirdly, He can inject and cast motions into the mind, to close with thofe tempting objects; as it is faid of Judas, John xiii. 2. "The "devil put it into his heart," Fourthly, He can folicit, irritate, and provoke the heart, and by those continual restless folicitations weary it: and hereby he often draws men to commit fuch things as startled them in the first motion. All this he can do, if he finds the work sticks, and meets with rubs and difficulties; yet doth he not act to the utmost of his skill and power, at all times, and with all perfons; neither indeed need he do fo; the very propounding of an object is enough to fome, without any further folicitation; the devil makes an eafy conqueft of them. And, befide all this, his policy much appears in the election of place, time, and inftruments to tempt by: And thus are poor fouls caught, as fishes in an evil net," Ecclef. ix. 12. The carnal man is led by fenfe, as the beaft; and Satan handles and fits him accordingly. He ufeth all forts of motives, not only internal and intellective; but external and fenfitive alfo; as the iparkling of the wine, when it gives its colour in the glass; the harlot's beauty, whofe eyelids are fnares, hiding always the hook, and concealing the iffue from them. He promifes them gain and profit, pleafure and delight, and all that is tempting, with affurance of fecrefy: By these he faftens |