A Plat for Mariners, Dedication 3
To all Seamen whoſe day of Grace is yet not hid from them, and whoſe hearts are not hardned, and ears deafned to the voice behind them; ſaying, This is the way, walk you in it.
Dear Friends,
YOur ſtate and calling is ſet forth by the Spirit of God, to be the moſt dangerous of all Means; You mount up to Heaven, and go down again to the depths, and is not this a deſperate caſe? Their ſoul is melted becauſe of trouble, (can any more Pſal. 107. 26, 27.be ſaid in a word, to declare their forlorn and deplorable condition?) They reel to and fro like a drunken man, and are at their wits end. They know not what to do, but then their eyes are up to God: And that when you are plunged into this ſad eſtate, you may have ſome good Anchor-hold for eternity, is the deſign of theſe Papers, ſent now into your hands. 1. Love to your Souls ſtudied them; love to your Souls preached them, and now love to your Souls, (notwithſtanding the many imperfections they are clothed withal,) prints them; and indeed they were haſtned to the Preſs, rather by the voice of God than man: Thoughts of preſenting them to publick view were taken up, and laid down again ſome Months, but that dreadful alarum from Heaven, in that fatal ſtorm, both at Sea and Land, when ſo many Ships and Lives miſcarryed; viz. September the 11. and 12, 1671. did occaſion the reaſſuming freſh thoughts, that through the bleſſing of God, they might be uſeful to the good of poor Seamen; and ſo the Author was prevailed with to truſt God with them; eſpecially ſo few Treatiſes being in print, for the ſakes of poor Seamen, that live conſtantly lives of death and danger, and their Relations, that lives Lives of ſorrow and fear: That you may be ſerious in the reading, and practiſing what now is put into your hand; Let me tell you,
1. Your Souls, your Families, your Eſtates, your Lives; nay, your All is here concerned: The deſign of theſe Papers is the Enſurance of your immortal precious Souls, this is the Jewel if ſafe, all is ſafe, if this be loſt, all is loſt, Ships loſt, you may get others; nay, the loſs of Relations may be made up, but the loſs of a Soul is an irreparable loſs; as it is unvaluable, ſo it is irreparable, it can neither be made up, nor ſum'd up. O poor Seamen what a precious commodity do you carry to Sea with you! what an unvaluable Jewel! and yet run the venture, take no care to enſure this, that is infinitely worth more than all you carry to Sea with you beſides?
2. Your ſnares and temptations are greater than other mens: May it not be ſaid of you, as of them, Fear, the Pit, and the ſnare are upon you: It is to be hoped you are not all fearleſs and graceleſs. Snares of Companies at land, at ſea, at home, and abroad; ſnares of foreign Countries, and ſnares of your callings: Oh what a wonder it is that poor Seamen that walk upon ſnares, are no more ſenſible of them! that they are not like him that dreamed he ſaw the world full of ſnares, and heard a voice ſay, Quis pertranſeat iſta?) Who ſhall paſs through theſe? and afterwards he heard a voice ſay by way of reply, Humilitas pertranſit, Humility ſhall paſs through. So ſay I, Oh poor Seamen, a watchful heart ſhall paſs through all your ſnares, you have need of as many eyes as the Poets feign Argus to have. Who have ſo many ſnares as you have! How true is that of many Seamen that Job hath of the wicked, For he is caſt into a net by his own feet, Job 18. 8.and he walketh upon a ſnare.
3. Your opportunities and ſeaſons for your Souls are fewer than other mens. Good Books muſt be your Sermons, and if you will not read when you cannot hear, you live in a daily neglect of your duty to God, and to your own precious ſouls; Oh how ſad would it be, and will it be for you one day, if you ſleight and deſpiſe the Miniſtry of Reconciliation, when you are at home! where you may enjoy it as in no place of the world whither you go; and when you are at Sea neglect thoſe advantages, which you may have in reading of the word; Seamens Ordinances are and ought to be Gods Providences; and their Miniſtry, and Preachers, Seas and Winds, if you ſleight the Miniſtry of your Barnabaſſes aſhore, viz. the Sons of Conſolation, you ſhall meet with the Miniſtry of Boarnergeſſes at Sea, a Miniſtry of Thunder: Doth not God often thunder upon you in ſtorms, Hurricanes, and mighty Tempeſts? doth not the Lord make that word good upon many poor Seamen? Ʋpon the wicked he rains fire, Pſa. 11.ſnares, and brimſtone, and an horrible Tempeſt: This ſhall be the portion of their cup.
4. Your Accounts are great: No men have greater accounts to give to God than Seamen have; therefore they had need look well to the ſtating of them; poor Seamen, though you put it off, yet the great Auditday is coming; the Lord will call you to a reckoning, what though it ſhould be (as you think) long firſt it is ſaid of the ſlothful ſervant, that after a long time the Maſter of that ſervant reckoned with him: God will make you know that long forbearance is no forgiveneſs. As Solomon ſays to the young man, ſo I ſay to the Seamen, Rejoyce O poor profane Seaman in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the ſight of thine eyes; But know thou that for all theſe things God will bring thee into judgment. 1. O that Seamen would conſider that the Lord will call them to an account for their vows, that their lips have uttered in the day of their diſtreſs: The day will come that they ſhall ſay, Thy vows are …. 56. 12.upon us, O God: Can you anſwer the queſtion, when God and Conſcience ſhall ask you, what is become of your vows, of your promiſes, and proteſtations? Can you make vows, and break them with the ſame breach? 2. Oh that Seamen would conſider God will call them to an account for the Convictions they have had in their ſtorms and diſtreſſes: Oh doth not God and Conſcience often board them (as I may ſay) and come to cloſe fight with them, and tell them, poor ſinners, theſe are your ſins, your crying ſins, that you muſt leave and lay aſide, if ever you expect to find mercy from me, and theſe are your duties that you muſt conſcientiouſly take up, as ever you think to have my comfortable preſence with you. Oh now how ordinary is it for poor Seamen to wear off and looſe ſuch Convictions? but though you forget them, God remembers them, and will call you to an account for them. 3. God will call you to an account for your Salvations and Preſervations; are there any men in the world men of ſo many deliverances and mercies as Seamen are? Oh what deaths and dangers do they paſs through every Voyage! how may it be ſaid to many of them, as Jonathan did to David? As I live there is but a ſtep betwixt thee and death: What few ſteps, inches, are betwixt Seamen and death, nay, and damnation, if they miſcarry before an intereſt gotten in the Lord Jeſus Chriſt? and can you think, nay dare you think that God gives you ſuch mercies and preſervations to ſpend them upon your luſts; to gratifie your fleſh withal? may not you hear God ſometimes ſaying to you as in that caſe, Are you delivered to do all theſe Jer. 1.abominations? Oh will not God ſay to you, Did not I give thee thy life poor ſinner, when many others miſcarryed? did not I bring thee off in a moſt miraculous manner, when others were ſwallowed up? and what uſe didſt thou make of ſuch a preſervation?
4. God will call Seamen to an account for all their Provocations: Oh poor Souls, you no ſooner commit them, but you forget them; Oh but God hath a book of Remembrance in which they are all recorded, and out of which you ſhall be judged; the ſecret of all hearts in that day ſhall be manifeſt; all the hidden things of darkneſs ſhall be brought to light, all ſecret guilt at home or abroad in the foreign parts of the Earth; all your ſecret ſins are ſet in the light of Gods countenance. 5. God will call Seamen to an account, for their Afflictions: Many of them they meet with great trials, one while breaches upon their Eſtates comes upon them, as the breaches of the Sea; one Voyage it may be rich, and the next impoveriſhed, or if not ſo, it may be taken by the Turks, or ſome cruel Enemies, and then under great ſlavery and miſery, and after all redeemed; Oh will not God call to an account for this. What better were you for your ſlavery? did it make you ſenſible of your ſpiritual captivity? did it bring you out of Soul-bondage? did it occaſion you to conſider this ſlavery of your bodies to the Turks, is nothing to the ſlavery of your ſouls to ſin and Satan? As it is ſaid by God, I ſent you into the Land of Chaldea for your good; ſo will God ſay, I ſent you into Sally, I ſent you into Argier, but was it for your good? Oh what a pity it is to ſee bodies of poor Seamen redeemed, and their ſouls Captives ſtill! to ſee them Drunkards, Swearers, unclean, and what not, after they have been ſlaves. Oh what pity it is to hear them talk of their ſlavery, and ſee their ſouls lie ſtill in irons and fetters; Captives to the Prince of darkneſs, which is worſe bondage than that you talk on, when men are ſent up into the Country to the King of Feſs? 6. God will call Seamen for an account for their time; they have abundance of time, many of them, and God will account with them for it, what improvement they made of it, what uſe they put it to? It is a talent, the improvement of it is accountable.
5. Poor Seamen to move you to read and practiſe, what you here meet with; conſider your day goeth away; your glaſs runs apace, you are ſailing for Eternity; you being under ſail for another world, why ſhould not your eyes and hearts be much upon that Country, to which you are bound? Doſt thou know whether thou ſhalt make this Voyage that thou art going on? Canſt thou aſſure thy ſelf of a ſafe arrival, or a ſafe return? Canſt thou ſay as Abraham did, when he went to offer up his Son, I, and the lad will go yonder to worſhip, and we will return? Can you promiſe your dear Relations a meeting again in this world, when you part with them? and ſhould not you then be ſerious in reading, in practiſing, in improving any thing that concerns the peace of your precious ſouls?
6. That poor Seamen may read and practiſe: Oh that they would conſider how loſt time will ſting their poor ſouls another day! have not many of you much time for reading, prayer, heart-examination? though it is true, ſuch are your circumſtances ſometimes, that your time will not give you leave for ſuch ſerious employments; yet again at other times, you have abundance of leiſure, is not this a great ſin among Seamen, idly to game their time away, or to talk it away, or ſinfully to ſport it away? but when you come into a ſtorm at Sea, or upon a death-bed at land, what will your ſouls ſay to it then? Oh that I had redeemed my time! Oh that I had been more diligent to make my calling and election ſure! Oh that I had ſpent more time in reading, prayer, heart-examination, than I have done! and leſs in ſinful pleaſures in ſinful company, in ſinful conference. It was a ſad ſaying of a diſtreſſed ſoul, when going to die, Ten pounds for an hour: Ten pounds for an hour. Oh poor ſoul what wouldſt thou not give for a day, or two, reprieve from hell and death, if there might be hope of a pardon.
7. That poor Seamen may read and practiſe, Oh that they would conſider, they have as great need for grace, as any men under heaven have. Oh what need have Seamen, and their poor Relations of grace; as in that caſe is ſaid by the Apoſtle, You have need of Patience. So I may ſay in this, Oh poor Seamen, you have need of patience to bear your ſtorms quietly; and Oh how many that do not poſſeſs their Souls in patience, in tempeſts and ſtorms; but are in as great a ſtorm as the Sea it ſelf, whoſe hearts are like the troubled Sea, that caſt forth nothing but mire and dirt, who belch out their Oaths & Blaſphemies againſt God; and like that King Ahaz, ſin more and more in the time of their diſtreſs; who are like a Bull, a wild Bull in the net, full of the fury of the Lord. If the winds blow they ſwear. What need have you of faith for your Souls, for your Bodies, for your Relations? Is not faith a ſtorm-grace, and may not Jeſus Chriſt ſay to many why are you fearful? Oh you of little faith; nay, why are you ſo bold and preſumptuous, Oh you of no faith!
8. That poor Seamen may read and practiſe: Oh that they would conſider, their account will be aggravated by what they meet with here if they practiſe it not; as Chriſt ſaid to thoſe Jews, ſo may I ſay in this caſe, If I had not comne, and ſpoken unto you, you had not had ſin, but now your ſin remains: viz. Your ſins had not been ſo circumſtantiated ſo highly aggravated. Wil't not be ſaid another day, were you not warned of ſuch a danger? of ſuch a ſin? charged by the Lord in the Miniſtry of the Word, to ſubmit and ſubject your ſouls to ſuch a duty; and will not all this be matter of evidence againſt you in the great day? But that your poor Souls may be pull'd as brands out of the burning, and come in this your day to hearken to the voice of the Lord, and not harden your hearts as in the day of Provocation; but know the things that concerns the peace of your precious Soul, before they be hid from your eyes; is the earneſt prayer of him who is one that deſires nothing more than to be directed to let down the Net at the right ſide of the Ship, that your poor Souls may be brought into Chriſt by it.
J. R.