many of those who navigate our ships, while they wear the name, are strangers to the spirit of Christianity. How are Christian crews distinguished in Pagan, or Mahometan ports? Are they known by their superior wisdom, integrity of character, and purity of morals? How is the christian Sabbath marked from other days of the week? Is it known by a pause in their business and pleasures, and by the devout worship of christian mariners? Or is not their flag, displayed at mast-head, every Lord's day morning, in too many instances, the best proof of the return of that joyful day? Heathens, who are hardly capable of making nice discriminations, and have never seen the best proofs of the power of the gospel, will very naturally take such conduct as a fair specimen of the excellency of the christian religion; and they will be likely to condemn the whole, as a system of hypocrisy and fraud. But if all our shipmasters and their men were richly imbued with the grace of God; if they displayed in all their intercourse with Jews, Turks and Pagans, the true Spirit of Christ; if every christian ship should become a "BETHEL," where the name and the worship of Jehovah should be devoutly observed, how soon would they take knowledge of them, that they came from a region of superior light, purity and benevolence. My brethren, you cannot single out a class of professional men, whose conversion would give so much strength to the church, and so much aid in spreading the gospel, as that of seamen. How powerful, how peculiar the reasons to excite us to pray, that God would pour out his holy spirit upon them, that the ocean may become vocal in his praise? Seamen have great encouragement to pray for themselves. In several illustrious instances God has heard and answered their prayers. The ship, that conveyed the disobedient and fugitive Jonah was arrested in her course. The Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a great tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. The mariners were greatly frightened, and, having some sense of a superior power, first cried every man unto his God. But when they learned that the God of heaven ruled the raging of the sea and stilled the noise of the waves, "they cried unto the Lord, and said, we beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood; for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee. So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea, and the sea ceased from her raging." It appears that some of these mariners were brought to repentance "by means of these extraordinary transactions." For their prayers were heard, and they "feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord and made Vows." When Christ and his disciples were crossing the sea of Tiberias, "behold there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves; but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying; Lord, save us: we perish.Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” David, in the 107th psalm, teaches us that God is ever ready to hear and answer the humble and devout prayers of distressed seamen. How encouraging these examples! Let mariners then praise the Lord for all his goodness, and daily bow before him in fervent prayer, and they will find him a present help in every time of trouble. (To be concluded in our next.) MARINERS' CHURCH. Sunday, August 12th, 1821. THE friends of our Zion, and the Members of the New-York Bethel Union Society especially, will be gratified to learn, that, since the establishment of that Institution, and the frequent meetings for prayer and religious worship, which have been held on board of vessels in our harbour, the attendance of seamen at the Mariners' Church has greatly improved. It is now more than a year since the Board which conduct the concerns of this Church have depended upon the Rev. Clergy of this city, and those who occasionally visit it, to supply the pulpit, and, if we rightly remember, this is the first Sabbath on which they have failed to procure a supply. The Monthly Committee, charged with the duty of procuring a preacher, were providentially disappointed, and they concluded to invite some of the lay brethren to conduct the meeting, which was accordingly done. Capt. P. commenced the exercises by addressing the throne of grace, and particularly for his brethren, the seamen. After singing, a short essay on repentance was read by another brother. Mr. W. then made a very animated and appropriate address on the same subject, and it was evident that HE who had so often manifested his presence in that place, now condescended to appear again for their help. The seamen (of whom there was present a respectable congregation) appeared solemn, and gave the greatest attention, and not a few of them shed tears, appa rently tears of contrition. After the service was concluded by Mr. W. some of the seamen appeared reluctant to leave the Church; one in particular, whose weatherbeaten face was bathed in tears, came to brother W., and with trembling lips inquired what he should do to be saved? He gave Mr. W. his name, and with an earnest request that he would visit him. Mr. W., who had an early interview with him, states, that "it was most pleasing and interesting, that the poor man found himself a lost, ruined and undone sinner, not knowing where to find relief." At evening service the committee were again disappointed in procuring a preacher, as many of the clergy were out of the city. They however, considered it their duty, as there was a large number of seamen present, to have some religious exercises, and called on brother W. again, to lead in prayer. He excused himself, saying, "He had just left his family in great distress, and that his mind was not free to speak, having (during the interval of worship) heard of the death, at sea, of an only beloved son." But as the Lord gave him great support in this trying affliction, the brethren were anxious to have him address them again, which he consented to do, and he spoke to them in a manner, that I trust will be long remembered by many who were present. Before the services were concluded with prayer by Mr. Mr. W. re tired to console his afflicted family. Blessed be God, this service, as we trust, was not without good effects. After the Congregation had retired, I observed a seaman at some distance weeping: I approached him, and inquired the cause of his grief. "O Sir," said he, "I find myself the most abandoned, ungrateful, ungodly sinner on the face of the earth! I have despised all manner of instruction,-have been a prodigal with my money and my precious time, and now I have reason to fear my soul is lost! I never before had such an idea of my sin. I came to this place for no good purpose. I told my shipmates we would come to church and have some sport; six of them came, but they have all left me in terror and sorrow. I expect they will laugh me to scorn, but I care not for that-my soul is precious." I asked him his name and native place, "My name," he replied, " is G-, and N-, is my native place, but I have disgraced my name and my connexions. Being early deprived of the tender care of parents, my uncle was exceeding kind to me, and always requested me, when in port, to make his house my home. But, O, my ungrateful heart refused to go; I preferred to go to the most abandoned houses, and pay my board-for my uncle's family is a religious one, and I could not bear to be in their company. Oh! what a wonder it is that God has spared me to this time." He expressed a desire to go and see Mr. W., who had spoken in the meeting. I went with him to Mr. W.'s house, and we spent an hour in prayer; and brother W. strove to lead his mind to the only refuge of safety. G. then observed, "I am now determined to go to my uncle's house," which he did; and, I trust, he was kindly received. He expected to sail soon, and I requested him to call on me and get some books. He has since visited me twice, and brought one of his shipmates, who was at the meeting on Sabbath evening, and who appears to be a seeker after better things than this world can afford. In all the solemn and pleasing scenes of this Holy Sabbath, I was ready to say, surely God hath blessed and hallowed it. He is able and willing to make use of the feeblest means to promote his own glory. What encouragement have Christians to exert themselves in behalf of the long neglected Seamen. When our Lord was on earth, he did not neglect them, and we trust he will use us as instruments in spreading his everlasting gospel among seamen, and in hastening forward the glorious triumphs of the King of Kings! BRISTOL (ENG.) JOURNAL. A. G. Bristol Third Bethel Company.-Mr. P., Superintendent. August 23, 1820. The John of Plymouth, captain Brougham.-This evening held the first prayer meeting with my company, and the Lord was present to bless our souls. A spirit of strong supplication was poured out on us. About 20 seamen present, who gave serious attention. I gave an exhortation, "Lord, grant that seamen may be brought to call on thy name, and to trust in thy grace." Mr. P. has also written in his Minute-book the following anecdote. An acquaintance of mine, a Sailor, just arrived in a ship from America, and who is not religious himself, informs me, that, before they sailed for England, a poor Sailor, an Irishman, begged to work his passage home, as the vessel was to touch at Ireland, to which the captain agreed. It appeared this man had been brought up a papist, but was wholly ignorant of divine things, and the slave of vice, but had been converted to God by the ministry of the word before they sailed. He would as often as possible attend the public worship of God on shore. Such of his shipmates as could be prevailed on, he would take with him. On one of these occasions he was met by a set of his countrymen, who assailed and abused him greatly both by words and blows, to which he made no kind of resistance, but meekly observed, how much more did his blessed Saviour endure for him. The reason these ruffians assigned for their conduct was, that he was a turncoat, and had changed his religion. After the ship had put to sea, she sprung aleak, which kept the hands so constantly at the pump, that they were almost worn out with fatigue, and dejected with the sad apprehension of not keeping her afloat. Under these distressing fears and hardships, this pious Sailor was remarkably active and cheerful. He animated his shipmates to courage and perseverance, as St. Paul did on a similar occasion, assuring them that he believed his God would not let them perish. When relieved from the pump, his general practice was to retire for private prayer. The relator said, "if ever there was a good man, he was one," and the blessing of God evidently rested on him. Bristol Fifth Bethel Company, Cumberland Basin. Mr. R., Superintendent. Sept. 11. The fine ship Magnet, of Philadelphia, being in the Basin, outward bound, a Bethel Flag was borrowed, and hoisted on board her : our own flag not having been presented to the Company, it was reserved for that useful ceremony this evening. A great concourse of people assembled on board in the evening, among whom were many respectable ladies from Bristol, and some from Clifton, all of whom it is believed were interested in the cause of religion among Sailors. The Rev. Mr. Shurman, of the Countess of Huntingdon's connexion, delivered án animated Address, from John x. ver. 20, and, at the close, presented the colours in due form. The Sailors were very attentive, and requested our prayers while at sea. From the Sailor's Magazine. THE MARINER'S GLORY. HYMN FOR THE BETHEL SEAMEN'S UNION.-TUNE, Gospel Invitation. JOHN Xvii. Lo! what wonders love performs, Come and welcome, Sailor, come! So when Bethel Seamen join'd, Translated for the Christian Herald. FROM THE "ARCHIVES DU CHRISTIANISME," FOR JUNE, 1821. MANY nations of Europe have been frequently reproached, and certainly not without some foundation, that they neglect paying a just homage to the memory of those of their secondary reformers, whose efforts were made at a very remote period. It is a remarkable fact, and one which proves that at no time has the liberty of examination been entirely extinguished in the heart, that it was not only when Wickliffe elevated his voice, that the apostles of the gospel were found, but even in the eighth century. Alcuin and Bede had manifested principles very superior to the opinions of their time. We shall briefly notice the principal circumstances in the history of two reformers, who have been almost entirely neglected by Ecclesiastical writers, but who, notwithstanding, are well worthy a place among those who have best served the cause of religion. PETER PAYNE (generally known out of his own country by the name of the "Englishman") was born in England, and was a disciple of Wickliffe in the latter end of the 14th century. He was principally distinguished by the part that he took in the conferences and dissertations of his time, particularly against Peter Waldensis, the champion of popery, and the adversary of the Wickliffites. Payne silenced him in a celebrated discussion upon pilgrimages, relics and the eucharist. This triumph occasioned so much noise, that Payne was compelled to leave the university, and take refuge in Bohemia. Here also he carried the works and doctrines of Wickliffe. He resided in Prague, and was constantly employed in making known his opinions, with the least possible publicity in the university of that city. They were received with transport by John Huss, Procopo, and Ziska, the Bohemian general. By this courageous conduct, he attracted, both against his principles and person, the persecution of the Archbishop of Prague, who gave the most formal orders to destroy and burn all the works of Wickliffe. About two hundred volumes were collected, which were consumed upon a pile. It is stated that all these works were beautiful copies, ornamented with plates and gilt, from whence it was conjectured that they had belonged to some of the most noble families of Bohemia. Wickliffe's writings had been preserved with so much care, that a bishop wrote from Londou to Prague, that he had succeeded in collecting two very large volumes of them, equal in size to those of St. Augustine. In spite VOL. VIII. 41 |