A Tossed Ship Making to Safe Harbor, Title page – Dedication
A TOSSED SHIP Making to ſafe Harbor, OR, A Word in Seaſon to a ſinking Kingdome.
Wherein
Englands Caſe, and Cure;
Her Burthens, and Comforts;
Her Preſſures, and Duties;
Are opened, and applyed, in diverſe Sermons, preached upon the Publick Dayes of HVMILIATION, Out of that Propheticall Hiſtory, Maith. 14.22 to 28.
By SAMUEL BOLTON, preacher to the Congregation of Saviours Southwark.
Chryſoſt. Hom. in Act. 8.
foreign.
Ioel. 2.21. Feare not, O Land, be glad and rejoyce, for the Lord will doe great things for thee.
Pſal. 65.5. By terrible things wilt thou anſwer us, O God, of our ſalvation, who art the confidence of all the ends of the Earth.
Vtinam qui nos modo exercent, convertantur & nobiſcum exerceantur. Aug.
LONDON, Printed by L. N. for Philemon Stephens, and are to be ſold at the golden Lion in Pauls Church-yard. 1644.
To the Right Honourable ROBERT Earle of Warwick, Baron of Leez 'Le Rich, Lord High Admirall of England, &c.
Right Honourable,
A Publick ſpirit is a rare and excellent ſpirit, honour'd of GOD, eſteem'd of Man; its a piece of GOD in Man, or Man ſeeking himſelfe in GOD. Its a ſpirit above the world, becauſe above it ſelfe. We reade of many of the Heathens, who were renowned for their publickneſſe of ſpirit. And certainely it was an excellent ſpirit which was in them, but it was ſhort of the true ſpirit: it held forth a god, though it fell below the true God; Publickneſſe of ſpirit ſpeaks a god, when privateneſſe of ſpirit makes it ſelfe a god. Its proper alone to God to work from himſelfe, and to himſelf, to be the ſpring whence, and the ſea whither all his actions tend; but it is not for man. He that makes himſelfe the principle of working, and the end of working; that (like a circular line) begins from himſelf, and ends in himſelfe, doth pull downe God, and ſetteth himſelfe in Gods ſtead. Like the ſpark in the fire, or the drop in the ſea; ſo our good doth more conſiſt in God then in our ſelves. He that ſeeks to be ſomething out of God, begins to be nothing; but he that can be nothing for God, findes himſelfe all in God, and God all to him.
Right honourable, among thoſe who have excelled in this publickneſſe of ſpirit in our dayes. And have ſought God and the good of theſe bleeding kingdomes, in ſeparation, nay in oppoſition to themſelves; we finde your Honour in the front, uncorruptedly upright—And it is but a manifeſt of your ancient ſpirit in former times, when not many durſt; and few would appeare, to own religon under contempt, we have had bad dayes before, then dayes of ſin, now dayes of trouble; and theſe dayes of trouble, they are but the births of thoſe dayes of ſin. Then you were a patron to the good, now a patriot to the whole. In the former you were a ſhelter in theſe a Saviour; before a ſuccour to religion, now an aſſertor of it. In which worke, your honour hath had a part burthenſome enough, but ſuitable to the greatneſſe of your ſpirit, fitted to incounter with difficulties: you have laine at the breaches; ſeen the wonders of God in the deepe, beene the terror of the ſea, the comfort of the land: and we have therefore been ſo ſecure at land, becauſe our hearts have ſecurely repoſed in you at ſea: Your worke is great, but your rewards are glorious; the hardeſt ſervices ſhall have the beſt rewards: nay, is there not ſomething of a reward in this? that God will own us, that God will honour us to worke for him. My Lord I know your head and hands are full, yet give me leave in this preſſe of imployments, to preſent to your honour the ſtate of our Church under the notion of A toſſed ſhip upon a ſtormy ſea making to ſafe harbor: under that notion theſe poor thoughts may finde acceſſe to you, and come under your honours protection. The Ship is the Church of God, the Sea the world, the the contrary windes, men of contrary ſpirits, the ſtorme, our preſent troubles, the lading precious, religion, property, liberty, and what ever is deare; the paſſengers, our ſelves, the harbour which we make towards, is nothing but peace with reformation. The windes have been and do continue high, the ſea ſtormy, our dangers great, and we have been forced to caſt much of our lading overboard to preſerve the reſt, and ſave the ſhip. In theſe our ſtraits many diſtruſting the ſafety of the ſhip, have let down a Cockboat, and ſought to ſhift for themſelves; Some ſinfully, all ſhamefully; others who ſee their good folded up in the whole, & deſire not to out-live their precious lading, do ſtill abide in the ſhip: ſome labouring at the ſterne, others at the oare; every one their hands full.—But though our work is hard, our dangers great, yet is it not with us, as with the Apoſtle, paſt all hopes of ſaving, Acts 27.20. There is yet hope if we looke downward, we are not yet ſo low as to hope againſt hope, Rom. 4.18. If we were, yet there is hope in the God of hope. And indeed there is our ſtay, we have anchord too much downward, we have reſted upon that which by very reſting upon hath proved uncomfortable and unprofitable to us: diſappointment and ſhame are the deſerved ends of creature truſts: oh that wee could now anchor upwards! upon that GOD who is the Rocke of Ages, an everlaſting rock; a rock ſo deep that no floods can undermine, & ſo high that no waves can reach. This is our comfort in our ſtraits and troubles here below, that there is yet ſea-roome enough in the infinite goodneſſe of God for faith to be carried full ſaile upon. Nothing ſhould poſe our faith, but what poſeth God: Nothing is too big for God to do; and why ſhold any thing be too big for us to believe? Things marvellous to us, are yet eaſie with God; things wonderfull to us are yet familiar with him, as he tels us Zach. 8.6.—It is our hope that God is riſen, nay, gone forth, and is now travelling in the greatneſſe of his ſtrength to bring redemption to his Churches, to work deliverances for his people. Let us ſtand and admire him in his going forth: Loe this is our God! we have waited for him and he will ſave us: this is the Lord, Iſay 25:9.we have waited for him, and we will be glad in his ſalvation: Let us put our ſelves into a poſture fit to receive mercy, and then ſtand ſtill and ſee the ſalvation of our God: ſtand ſtill in believing, yet indeavour in working; we are to fix our eyes, but uſe our hands. Through God we ſhall doe valiantly,—for he ſhall tread downe all our enemies for us. We, but wee through God—It is the ſpeech of one, Uſe means as if there were not a God to helpe, look up to God as if not a man to help. Certainly not to uſe meanes is to tempt God, and to truſt in meanes is to provoke God. It is a leſſon worth learning, not to ſwell in the injoyment, nor to ſink in the want of creature reliefes, to be nothing in our ſelves in the preſence of meanes, and to be all in God in the abſence of them. But let me not be a burthen to your honour in the entrance.— My Lord, I have only this to ſay; you have done much for God, and God hath now put advantages into your hands of doing more; it will be your honour here, …ies brevis opus multum, merces magna, pater familias urget operarii ne ſint pigri.and your happineſſe for ever, if God do pleaſe to make you inſtrumentall for the ſpreading of the light of the glorious Goſpell of Jeſus Chriſt, into thoſe dark Weſterne parts of the world; pitty it is that the Garden of the World ſhould want the Sunne of the World; that thoſe places which abound in al things, ſhould want that which ſhould bee the crowne and comfort of their abundance. It is my earneſt prayers, that God of his mercy would give you a ſingle heart and an induſtrious hand to work for him, and himſelfe eye your labouts, write a booke of remembrance of them: be your counfell in ſtraits, your protection in dangers, your comfort in life, your Saviour in death, and after death, the God of your poſterity alſo, that mercy may be intailed to your houſe for ever. And this is the earneſt and hearty prayers of him, who is
Your Honours in all humble and due obſervances, S. BOLTON