WHEN the Psalmist had passed thorow Fire & Water & was brought out by God into an happy Place, He first declares to His Great Preserver, I will go into thy House with Burnt-Offerings I will pay Thee my Vows which my Lips have uttered and my Mouth hath spoken when I was in Trouble—: And then He turns about & calls out aloud to the People, Come & hear all Ye that fear God & I will declare what He hath done for my Soul. Psal. 66. 12—16.

IN another Place He tells us, that Those who go down to the Sea in Ships see the Works of the Lord & His Wonders in the Deep: and from thence exhorts us all to Praise and give Him Glory for them. How can we Praise the Lord for those His wondrous Works, unless we either behold them or hear of them? It is Our Business & Duty therefore who have seen them to declare & publish them▪ & Yours to hear & joyn in admiring them & in offering Him His Dues & Tributes of Praise & Glory.

[Page 2] LET us then attend with serious Care & Dili­gence to what may be now delivered from

THE Words are a dependant & imper­fect Part of a Sentence, & therefore lead us to the Consideration of the precee­ding Context. The Psalm is a Col­lection of most pathetick Arguments & Exhortations to divers sorts of People, to Praise the Lord for His Goodness & for His wonderful Works to the Children of Men. ^*.

THE Foremost Rank of the Psalmist his Audi­tory are Those preserved & directed in their Tra­velling on the Land. The Second are the redeemed out of Prison or Captivity. The Third are those recovered out of dangerous Fits of Sickness. The Fourth are the arrived safe from Voyages on the Seas.

IN this Article of the Psalm He

1. OBSERVES the Works & Wonders of the Lord which their Eyes behold, v. 23, 24. They that go down to the Sea in Ships, that do Business in Great Waters, These see the Works of the Lord and His Wonders in the Deep.

2. THE Distresses Fears & Dangers they are often in, v. 25—27. For He commands and raises the [Page 3] stormy Wind which lifteth up the waves thereof: They mount up to the Heaven, They go down again to the Depths, their Soul is melted because of Trouble, They reel to & fro & stagger like a Drunken man, & are at their Wits end.

3. THEN He takes notice of their earnest Ap­plication to God in these their Difficulties, v. 28— Then They cry unto the Lord in their Trouble▪

4. GOD's Gracious Answer in saving & bringing Them safe to Land. v.—28—30. And He bringeth Them out of their Distresses: He maketh the storm a Calm, so that the Waves thereof are still: Then are They glad, because They be quiet: so He bringeth Them unto their desired Haven.

5. THEN He presses Them & Others to offer publick Praise to God, their merciful & great De­liverer. v. 31. Oh that men wou'd Praise the Lord for His Goodness, and for His wonderful Works to the Children of men: Let them exalt Him also in the Con­gregation of His People, and Praise Him in the Assem­bly of the Elders.

FROM Hence we may draw the following Observations.

1. THAT the Works & Wonders of the Lord appear in the Great Deeps.

2. THAT the Sea is a Place of common Fear, Distress and Danger.

3. THAT in such a Circumstance it is pro­per & natural for Men to cry to the Lord.

4. THAT He is usually gracious to Them, hears their Prayers and saves & brings Them to their desired Haven.

[Page 4] 5. THAT it becomes Them & Others there­fore to admire & offer publick Praise to God for His wonderful Works & Goodness.

THESE several Observations are highly wor­thy to be considered by us: But because they in­tirely take in the Importance of the Context, and we shall have enough to observe from the words at first read over to you, I shall chiefly confine my self to them alone: Especially since they contain the most desireable and happy Consummation of God's Merciful & providential Dealings with those who travel on the tempestuous Ocean.— So He bringeth Them to their Desired Haven.

AND in the first place I shall offer a brief & clear Explanation of them by their Dependance on the preceeding Passages.

SO—i. e. After their Crying to the Lord in their Trouble, & His making the Storm a Calm & the rolling Waves a quiet Water. He—i. e. God the Lord to whom They cryed & in whom They hoped. Bringeth Them— viz. By the na­tural Agency of prosperous Winds & gentle Seas. To their desired Haven—Rendered the more de­sireable in their Stormy Hours, upon which They can now look back with a grateful Pleasure, and injoy the chearful Fruits of Gods delivering and conducting Mercy.

FROM the Words thus explained, without any great Alteration of them, We may raise this plain & easy Observation.

[Page 5] DOCT. THAT it is God the Lord who brings those that pass thro' the dangerous Seas to their desired Haven.

FOR the Illustration of this our Doctrine, it will be needful for us to consider these Particulars.

1. WHAT is the Importance of that Expres­sion, Their desired Haven.

2. TO show, They are safely bro't unto it by God the Lord.

3. HOW, or in what way God brings Them to it.

I. LET us consider the Importance of this Expression, Their desired Haven.

AN Haven is a Place at Land where we are se­cure either at Anchor or on Shoar from the fatal Injuries of tempestuous Winds & raging Billows. And it may for several Reasons be desired by those that Sail on the troublous Ocean.

1) BECAUSE of their occasional Views, De­signs & Business.

2) BECAUSE it may be at the Land of their Abode or intended Settlement.

3) BECAUSE it may be the Place of their Education or Nativity.

4) BECAUSE at least it is a Station of greater Convenience & Security than the Seas.

1. OUR Haven may be desirable to us, Be­cause of our occasional Views, Designs & Business.

IT is the Place intended when we first begin our uncertain Voyage, and therefore we must needs have particular Affairs & Views of great Impor­tance to attract us thither.

[Page 6] SOME are in the Pursuit of Gain & Wealth or Riches: Others of Curiosity, Pleasure, or Im­provement: Others are mov'd with Views of ex­alted Figure, Dominion, Power & Grandeur, of a splendid Train & Show, Obsequious Worship & Obedience, & pompous Honours. Others run the Danger out of more noble & generous Ends: Some to gain a virtuous Fame & Reputation: Others to make advantagious Discoveries to the World: Others for their Country's righteous Cause, for the Welfare & Protection of Societies, or gloriously to rescue the Inslaved or Oppressed. Finally, Some are inspiried with a pure & heaven­ly Zeal to spread the Gospel, Grace and Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to bring ignorant, unhappy, perishing Nations to the saving Know­ledge of Him.

SO quickening & Divine a Principle we find in the Great Apostle in Rom. 1. 8.—13. First I thank my God thro' Jesus Christ for you all, that Your Faith is spoken of throughout the whole World. For God is my witness whom I serve with my Spirit in the Gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of You always in my Prayers, making request, if by any means now at lenght I might have a Prosperous Jour­ney by the will of God to come unto You. For I long to see You, that I might impart unto You some spiritual Gift, to the End You may be established: That is, that I may be comforted together with You by the mutual Faith both of You & me. And I wou'd not have You ignorant Brethren that oftentimes I purposed to come unto You, but was hinder'd hitherto, that I might have some Fruit among You also even as among other Gen­tiles.

[Page 7] THESE & many other things excite & ani­mate us to take the greatest Pains, to indure the most irksome Toils & to risk the greatest▪ Hazards on the watery Element: And must therefore ren­der the Place or Haven very desireable where we hope to obtain or injoy them. But

2. OUR Haven may be yet more desired, if it be at the Land of our Abode or designed Settlement.

A CONVENIENT, easy, secure & agre­able Abode & Settlement is the natural Inclination & more ultimate View of all Mankind. This makes them to prefer one Place or Country to another, determins them to the choice of One to live in, and is the general impulsive cause of all their Re­moves or Change of Dwellings.

SOME remove from one Part of the Earth to another to get a larger Estate, or make a farther Improvement of that They have: Or to live in greater Ease and Pleasure, or rise to higher Respect & Dignities, or to do more extensive Good in the World.

SOME remove for the Benefit of more plen­tiful Soils, wholsomer Airs, healthier Climes, or pleasanter Prospects & Scituations: Some for lone­some Solitudes, Others for chearful Converse, & Others for a Neighbourhood of People more agre­able to their religious or political Tempers & Prin­ciples: Some to injoy the Properties, Rights & Li­berties of Humane nature in an equaller Degree & in a greater Security: Finally, Some to live unmolested in a quiet & peaceable Exercise of Conscience, a purer Observance of Divine Insti­tution, and a fuller Inioyment of religious Soci­ety, [Page 8] the proper Means of Grace & other invaluable Priviledges of the Gospel of Christ.

WHEREVER These happy Things abound, They must needs render a Land exceeding dear & precious to every pious or generous Soul, and raise in it an earnest Longing to see & injoy it: And which will rather increase as we approach the nearer to the desired Haven.

ESPECIALLY will our Esteem & Wishes arise, if we remove from a Place of prevailing Wickedness, Discord, Enmity, Rage, Reproach & Danger of numerous, restless, implacable Enemies.

THE passionate Resentment & Desire of such a Soul as this is very movingly described by David in Psal. 55. 2—8. I mourn in my complaint & make a noise: because of the Voice of the Enemy, be­cause of the Oppression of the wicked: For They cast Iniquity on me, and in wrath They hate me. My Heart is sore pained within me, and the Terrors of Death are fallen upon me: Fearfulness & Trembling are come upon me, & horrour hath overwhelmed me. And I said, Oh, that I had Wings like a Dove! For then wou'd I flee away & be at rest: Lo, then wou'd I wan­der far off, and remain in the wilderness, Selah: I wou'd hasten my Escape from the windy Storm & Tempest.

3. OUR Heaven will be yet more earnestly longed for, if it be the Place of our Education or Nativity.

IT seems to be a careful Instinct of Divine Pro­vidence, that our being born & educated in any Country does indear it to us, and generally make us to prefer it above all others in the World, tho' [Page 9] They ever so much exceed it: That so Humane Society may be thereby preserved & improved, & every one may have a strong Propension to pro­mote the Welfare & Prosperity of the Land of His Birth & Breeding. This is observed among all & even the most Savage & Barbarous Nations: And therefore Those are justly look'd upon as in­humane & unnatural Wretches, who turn Ene­mies to the Interest of their Native Country; tho' They have met with the unkindest Treatment, or most undeserved Provocations.

THE Ancient Heathen Greeks & Romans▪ have given us many noble Instances of Those who, by the strength of their indelible Love to their Coun­try & a generous Spirit, in Defiance of all the malign & ungrateful Injuries done Them, have persevered in their ardent Prosecution of its Well­fare & Glory.

OUR Native Shoars must then be very desi­reable to us, and our Arrival at them most earnest­ly long'd for, after a long & tedious absence; wherein our tender Affection has more sensibly wrought, and we have learned to prefer them, as the Captive Natives of Jerusalem did in a strange Land & by the Rivers of Babylon, above our chiefest Joy. Psal. 137. 1—6.

AND as in the Country that gave us our Birth we are generally trained up in Arts & Scien­ces, or Religion & Virtue; so we There contract a most desireable & familiar Acquaintance, which by the charming Simplicity of Youth & a long try'd Experience enters deep into the growing Af­fection, and becomes inseparable & natural to us. [Page 10] And from thence we must needs ordinarily feel the most powerful, united Attraction of Kindred, Alliance & Friendship.

THERE are our old, intimate, approved & bosome Friends; with whom we used to take sweet Council together, and walk to the House of God in Com­pany: There are the delightful Desires of our Eyes, as the Holy Scriptures call them, ^* and the bloom­ing Offspring of our Bodies: There are our plea­sant Wives & Children, our Fathers & our Mo­thers, our Brethren & our Sisters!—The dearest & most irresistible Incentives & Allurements of Humane Nature.

WE find how powerfully Some of them wrought in the Patriarch Jacob, even while He was in the full Possession of Others, & in opposition to a long Residence & Prosperity in a Forreign Land. When He had lived above two Sevens of Years with his Father-in-Law Laban, & had gotten Him Wives & Children; He tells Him, Send me away, that I may go unto my Own Place & to my Country. Gen. 30. 25. And a considerable Time after, when He was rather incouraged to stay by a great Increase of Riches; we find Him forcibly breaking away from Laban, and Laban well observing in the fol­lowing Chapter at the 30th Verse:— And now—Thou wou'dst needs be gone, because Thou sore longest after thy Father's House—.

THE Delightful Views of These, and the lively Hopes of the Injoyment of them, must there­fore make our Haven exceedingly desired by us; [Page 11] and like the Descent of Bodies to their Centers, increase our impatient Longings, the nearer we draw unto them.

4. THO' we should have none of these At­tractives; yet our Haven must needs be very de­sireable to us, as it is a Place of abundantly greater Convenience & Security than the Seas.

WHEN we are in the Pursuit of our length­ening Voyage, at a greater Distance from the Land, and confined within the narrow Bounds of a Ship; what a Multitude of convenient & desireable Things are we destitute of, either for Pleasure, Health or Ease? And how many times are we exposed to perish, as many others have done, for want of the necessary Supports of Life? The Want of them makes us oft to remember them, and excites our earnest, vain Desires to the Shoars that produce or afford them.

AND as on the Seas we are also destitute of the precious Ordinances of Jesus Christ; How earnestly will a gracious Soul desire & pant after them! How beautiful & desireable is the Place where His lovely Temples stand & appear! The Language of such a pious Soul is expressed with the most affectionate & tender strains, in Psal. 84, & 42. How amiable are Thy Tabernacles O Lord of Hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the Courts of the Lord: My Heart & my Flesh cries out for the Living God. Yea the Sparrow hath found an House, and the Swallow a Nest for her self; even Thine Altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King & my God. Bles­sed are They that dwell in Thine House: They will be still Praising Thee, Selah. O Lord God of Hosts hear [Page 12] my Prayer, give ear O God of Jacob, Selah. For a Day in Thy Courts is better than a Thousand: I had rather be a Door-keeper in the House of my God than to dwell in the Tents of Wickedness. ^* As the Hart panteth after the water-Brooks; so panteth my soul af­ter Thee O God! My Soul thirsteth for God, for the Living God: when shall I come & appear before Him! ^†.

FURTHERMORE, the fluctuating & tempestuous Ocean is a stage of continually greater Hazard than the Land. Nothing is more uncer­tain than the Motion of the Winds & Waters. A furious Storm or a sudden Gust or Tempest may rise out of a perfect Calm & Sunshine, when the Heavens above & the Surface of the Seas below appear to smile & flatter us into a sound Security. They may soon overset or founder us in the hoary Deeps, or drive & rack us on the fatal Rocks & Shelves of the very Shoars we long to get to.

NUMBERLESS & dismal Accidents are we perpetually liable to that we cannot possibly provide against or foresee. But to make use of those beautiful Allusions in Job 22. 20, 21.— When Terrours take hold on us as waters and a Tem­pest is ready to steal us away in the Night, the Wind threatens to carry us away and the Storm to hurl us one of our Place; Oh then, How desireable is a safe & peaceable Harbour! How exquisite is our Tast [...] happy Calm & Security of the Shoar! How ardent are our perplexed Wishes, that we were off from the violent & outragious Element! How [Page 13] zealously wou'd we fly with our quickest Desires as the Affrighted Birds to their Refuge the Moun­tains for Defence & Shelter.

HOW desireable then must an Harbour be to those who Sail on the dangerous & turbulent O­cean! How transporting will be the sudden Cry & Sight of Land! And how will the swelling Joy increase & flow; as we behold it hastening & arising to bid us Wellcome, and the fair Haven opening to receive us into its desired Arms!

THUS have we briefly considered the Impor­tance of that Expression, Their desired Haven. We come now to consider, How it is that we arrive at such a Point of Joy & Happiness. The Psalmist here ascribes it unto God the Lord: and our Bu­siness therefore is in the

II. PLACE, TO prove that it is by God the Lord that we are brought unto it.

THIS will appear plainly upon our conside­ring, that His Providence is ever universally ex­tended to all His creatures; upholding the intire Frame of Nature according to His Wise Appoint­ment, and over-ruling every Thing according to His Sovereign Will. If this be true, as the Holy Scriptures & the freest Reason do assure us; we never then arrive at Land, but it is by Virtue of His Presence, Power & Active Providence.

THERE is no Necessity that He shou'd there­in act in contrariety to the common Laws of Na­ture, which He has fixed in the World, and by which He chooses to preserve & govern it. If He [Page 14] makes use of Winds & Seas and other Secondary Causes, to bring us alive & well ashoar; Yet as He is still the great active & Supream Efficient, our safe Arrival must unquestionably be ascribed to Him. To speak or imagine otherwise, wou'd be impiously to deny Him His great Glory & Prero­gative, To be the continual Almighty Ruler & Supporter of the World.

IN particular, the Seas & Elements, the Works of His Creation, are the perpetual Objects of His Soveraign, Wise & over-ruling Power, Care & Pre­sence. I need describe it in no other Language than we find in the Sacred Books of Job & the Psalms: where the several Branches of this Asser­tion are thus expressed in the loftiest, but the plainest Terms.

1. THAT They were all created by Him. Psal. 146. 5, 6. Happy is He that hath the God of Jacob for His Help, whose Hope is in the Lord his God: who made Heaven & Earth, the Sea and all that in them is.

2. THAT They therefore are His Right & Property. Psal. [...]5. 3—5. For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all Gods. In His Hand are the deep Places of the Earth: The Hight ^* of the Hills is His also. The Sea is His, and He made it: and His Hands formed the dry Land.

3. THAT He actually Surveys them all. Job 28. 24—26. For He looketh to the Ends of the Earth, and seeth under the whole Heavens: to make the Weight for the Winds, and He weigheth the Water by [Page 15] Measure: When He made a Decree for the Rain, and [...] may for the Lightening of the Thunder: &c.

4. THAT He is really present with them. Psal. 139. 7—10. Whither shall I go from Thy Spi­rit, or whither shall I flee from Thy Presence? If I ascend up into Heaven, Thou art there. If I make my bed in Hell, behold Thou art there: If I take the Wings of the Morning, and dwell in the uttermost Parts of the Sea; even there shall Thy Hand lead me, and Thy Right Hand shall hold me.

5. THAT He likewise rules them according to His Soverain Pleasure. Psal. 135. 5.—7. For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is a­bove all Gods. Whatsoever the Lord pleased That He did, in Heaven & in Earth, in the Seas & in all deep Places. He causeth the Vapours to ascend from the Earth: He maketh the Lightenings for the Rain: He bringeth the Wind out of His Treasuries.

THESE are the positive & clear Assertions of Holy Scripture: and they are all confirmed by the certain, constant & surprizing Observations of the visible State & Fabrick of the World. Who­ever will take the pains to study the Nature & Motions of the Heavenly Bodies, will in a little time enter into an amazing Scene of Providence. He will be quickly and unavoidably convinced, that without a perpetual & conpulsive Force, the Sun & Moon & Earth & Planets wou'd immedi­ately leave their several Orbs & Stations, and the Earth & Seas wou'd soon dissolve & fly to pieces.

IT is then an Omnipresent, Almighty, Sove­rain Cause that continually preserves & governs the Seas & Elements & all within them, in that [Page 16] general Course & Order which He has been pleas'd to contrive & settle. And as our Arrival at our Desired Haven is by the visible Agency of these In­strumental Causes, in the Hands of their Supream & Active Ruler-God; we must of Necessity own that He brings us to it.

ONLY we might here observe, That the Go­vernment of the World in the same inflexible, fatal Manner, without a Liberty to vary, seems in­consistent with the Nature, Honour & Perfections of the Divine Being and therefore we must needs allow that He reserves a Soverain Liberty to act whenever He pleases in Opposition to the common Biass of Second Causes, either immediately by Himself alone, or Ministerially by the Agence of Humane or Angelick Powers. And [...] He must have so just a Liberty; so it seems undeniable in a Multitude of Instances, that He continually makes use of it: Particularly in raising, allaying & altering the Course of Winds & Storms, and directing the Thoughts & Views & Resolutions of the Mariners.

THERE seems to be no Necessity of His acting immediately by Himself alone▪ unless in the Su­pernatural Works of redeeming Sinners, of preser­ving, over-ruling, annihilating or altering the in­ternal nature of Things, or the universal Frame & Constitution of the World. In other Cases, There are innumerable, powerful, quick & active Attendants ready to perform His Will. This is so agreable to Humane Reason, That it has been the Sentiment of almost every Nation in the World▪ For the wiser Heathens have naturally [Page 17] & almost universally fallen into this same Con­ception; That in Subordination to the Supream Deity, there are a Multitude of powerful Spirits, which they wrongly called by the Name of Gods.

ACCORDINGLY, The Holy Scriptures appear evidently to confirm & illustrate this com­mon Voice & Light of Nature. For They expressly tell us

THAT The Lord who makes the Clouds His Cha­riots, who walketh upon the Wings of the Wind; does also make His Angels Spirits, His Ministers aflaming Fire. Psal. 104. 3, 4.

THAT The Chariots of God are Twenty Thousand, even many ^* Thousands of Angels, and the Lord is a­mong them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place. Psal. 68. 17.

THAT His Angels are Mighty ^† in Strength, and do His commands, hearkening unto the Voice of His word. Psal. 103. 20.

THAT When He made dark Waters & thick Clouds of the Skies His Pavillion round about Him, and thundered in the Heavens, and shot out Lightenings, and did fly upon the Wings of the Wind; He rode up­on a Cherub: and then He sent from above, and took His Servant David▪ and drew Him out of great ^‖ Wa­ters and delivered Him. Psal. 18. 10. &c.

FINALLY, That the Angel of the Lord im­campeth round about them that fear Him, and delive­reth them. Psal. 34. 7.

FURTHERMORE, We may take Notice from the Words in Connexion with those which go before them, That by the Lord may be here emi­nently [Page 18] Meant the Second Person of the Sacred Tri­nity. This is frequently the Signification of the Word in the Book of Psalms, as I might clearly▪ shew: And in the New Testament, our Blessed Sa­viour is almost ever destinguished by this Soverain Title.

IN Psal. 110. 1. He is styled Lord, and we are there informed, that the Lord, the Father had appointed Him To sit at His own Right Hand, until His Enemies should be made His Footstool. And in Eph. 1. 17—22. We are assured, that God the Fa­ther has raised Him from the Dead, and set Him at His own Right Hand in the Heavenly Places: far a­bove all Principallity & Power & Might & Dominion, & every Name that is named not only in this World but also in that which is to come: and hath put all Things under His Feet.

NOT but that the Second Person of the Holy Trinity had the same equal Glory & Dominion from Everlasting, as might easily be proved: But this is meant of the Raising of His Humane Na­ture, after its Assumption to His Divine Person and its Suffering, Resurrection, & Ascention, to the same visible undestinguish'd Dignity & Do­minion.

SO that we now have the unspeakable Con­solation to remember in our Dangers & Distresses on the Land or Water; That our Lord Jesus Christ, the same Merciful, compassionate & condescending Person, to whom the Winds & Seas & Angelick Powers were obedient when He was here on Earth, is the Perpetual, Soverain, Surveyor & Over-ruler of Them.

[Page 19] IT is then to God the Lord Jesus in particular as well as to the Father & omnipresent, all-active Spirit, that we are to ascribe our joyful safe Arri­val to our desired Haven. Let us now then pro­ceed to consider,

III. HOW or in what Way God brings us to it.

WE have observed that He takes what Course He pleases, and makes use of Means according to His Wise & Soverain Pleasure. These are of vast & inconceivable Variety: And some of them have a greater or a less, i. e. a nearer or more remote Dependance on God Himself, the prime & su­pream Mover & Director of them. There are Multitudes of Instrumental Causes, which we cannot number or destinguish, that are necessary to bring us safe to Land. But in general, we may take notice of these Three several Means of God's effecting it.

1.) BY saving us from many fatal Injuries on the way.

2.) BY moving & ordering of the Vapours, Seas & Winds.

3.) BY influencing of our Thoughts & Views in the Direction of our Voyage.

1. HE preserves Us from many fatal Mischiefs on the Way: and so brings us to the Port desired.

BY bringing those who Sail upon the Seas to their desired Haven, the Scriptures must needs intend the bringing them alive to Land. For else it wou'd be vain to excite them to Praise the Lord for their Glad Arrival, as the Psalmist does [Page 20] in the two following Verses. For the Dead Praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into Silence. Psal. 115. 17. For the Grave cannot Praise Thee: Death cannot celebrate Thee: They that go down into the Pit cannot hope for thy Truth. The Living, the Living, He shall Praise Thee, as I do this Day. Isai. 33. 18, 19.

IN order therefore to the bringing them alive to Shoar, it is necessary that God shou'd save them from many fatal Injuries & Disasters They are subject to on the boisterous & tumultuous Seas.

WE are expos'd on Sea as well as Land to ma­ny Mortal Diseases of the Body: and somewhat more exposed; for want of skilful Physitians, wholsomer Food & proper Remedies: Besides in­numerable sudden & untho't-of Evils we are every Hour in Jeopardy of. But God is the Great Preser­ver of Men, as the patient & experienc'd Job ac­knowledged. Chap. 7. 20. If God did not preserve us; the Vessel wherein we Sail might break or sink or burn, or carry us to deadly Thirst or Fa­mine, Drowning, Slaughter, or the miserable House of Bondage.

HE likewise holdeth our Soul in Life, & suffereth not our Feet to be moved ^* from the Face of the World, tho' we roll & toss on the slippery & perpetually moving Element. Or else the Ship that bro't us from a Forreign Land to Sea, wou'd come with­out us to the desired Shoar: and only serve to tell, unwillingly, the doleful & surprizing News to our eager long expecting Friends, that we were never to see them again; that we had taken up a last­ing Habitation in the Prison of the deep Abyss, [Page 21] or had chang'd our first designed Voyage to an eternal Travel on the fluctuating & unsettled Waves.

2. GOD brings us to our desired Haven by Moving & Ordering of the Vapours, Seas & Winds.

IF we look immediately on the Seas, They are a restless, unruly & irresistible Element. All Hu­mane Power must submit unto them & cannot pre­vent the Rising of a single Wave. But tho' They seemingly toss us at their Pleasure; Yet They only perform the Commission of God their Lord & So­verain. They are among the Number of His low­ly Creatures: and therefore justly the Subjects of His universal & uncontroulable Government. For the Lord sitteth upon the Floud: Yea the Lord sit­teth King for ever. Psal. 29. 10. He alone spreadeth out the Heavens, and treadeth upon the Waves of the Sea. Job 9. 8.

IT is in them we smoothly glide, and thro' them it is that we forcibly Plough to get to our desired Haven. They may deceive or stop us in our eager, fair Career by their cross & violent Cur­rents, or by raising up Themselves and setting their awful Billows in Battle array against us. Then it is They show the Greatness of their Might, and rise into a solemn, noisy Rage; to make us sensible of our own defenceless Impotence, and the necessity of a Superiour Power to countermand them. And the more we resist them, the more we feel the redoubled Shocks of their incensed Power & Fury.

BUT in such a Time of Distress as this, we may with a triumphing Passion repair to God the [Page 22] Lord and say— The Flouds have lifted up O Lord! The Flouds have lifted up their Voice! The Flouds lift up their Waves! The Lord on high is mightier than the Noise of many Waters: Yea than the mighty Waves of the Sea. Psal. 93. 3, 4. And when their Tumult & Roaring ceases, we must then with joyful Gratitude & Wonder acknowledg unto God— Thou rulest the Raging of the Sea! When the Waves thereof arise, Thou stillest them! Psal. 89. 9.

BY their fluid Surface & gently rolling Waves He thus sustains the Ship that holds us, and brings us happily at last to the solid Shoars that bound their Empire.

BUT as the Seas-are mov'd & rais'd by the more active Winds, and obediently continue, change or cease according to them; we must look up to these as the chiefer Instruments, whereby God brings us to our desired Haven. These have the greater Share & Influence to prevent or bring us safe to Land: and therefore need to be at God's Soverain Motion & Direction.

NOTHING appears to move more irregu­larly & at randome than the Winds: And the true Reason of their Rise & Fall & Change, or blowing from the several Quarters of the Heavens, is for the most part beyond our Humane Reach & Guess. But surely They cannot be the only lawless Subjects of their omnipresent, allwise, all­mighty Creator & Preserver. His over-ruling Power & Dominion had need extend to them, as well as His other Elementary Creatures; Inasmuch as They are the continual Means of great Effects & Alterations in the World.

[Page 23] THEY are therefore mentioned by the Holy Scriptures in company with the rest, as the Sub­jects of His Soverain Will & Rule.

SNOW, Frost, Ice & Cold, warm Weather, Winds & Flouds are represented to be at God's Command. Psal. 147. 15—18. Fire & Hail, Snow & Vapour; and Stormy Wind are said to fullfill His Word. Psal. 148. 8. He commanded the Clouds from above, and opened the Doors of Heaven: He caused the East Wind to blow in the Heavens, and by His Power He bro't in the South Wind. Psal. 78. 23, 26.

AND with respect to the Winds & Clouds, which have a mutual Influence on one another; we have the Prophet Nahum & Elihu speaking in such magnificent Terms as these, The Lord hath His way in the Whirlwind & in the Storm, and the Clouds are the Dust of His Feet. ^* Also by Watering He wearieth the thick Cloud: He scattereth the Cloud of His Brightness, ^† and it is turned round about by His council: That They may do whatsoever He com­mandeth them upon the Face of the World.—He causeth it to come either for Correction or for Mercy. Job 37. 11, 12.

IF the Clouds & Winds are mov'd & turn'd about by His Soverain Power & Council; we must own, that it is God who stills & moderates as well as raises the Stormy Tempest, and sends the fresher Gale or gentler Breez that safely brings us to the unruffled Shoar.

3. GOD brings us to our desired Haven, By influencing of our Tho'ts & Views in the Directi­on of our Voyage.

[Page 24] WE allways travel in different Paths on the wide & trackless Ocean. Our Tho'ts & Judg­ments vary every Voyage: And so we change our Course, tho' the Wind be still the same as well as the Port designed. The Views & Resolutious of the Mariners often turn on the most indifferent Incidents: That they seem to be more of humer­some Fancy than of solid Judgment, tho' the pre­cious Lives of many besides their own depend up­on them. By this means we may be directed to Steer into dreadfully racking Storms: or insensi­bly led out of our way to avoid them. And thus it frequently comes to pass, That We have escap'd an unforeseen & hidden & near Destruction; when Others who set Sail with us have unhappily mis­took their way, and have fallen into it.

AND even before we begin our uncertain Voyage; By what innumerable & various Views do we either prolong or hasten it. By this means God often brings us safe to Land: Or we might come out to Sea too soon and meet with a dismal fatal Storm, or come on the dangerous Coast too late to save our Lives.

AND with respect to the transient Passengers & Common Seamen, that indifferently Sail in one Ship or another; What a peculiar, remarkable Pro­vidence does often over-rule & direct us in Our final choice. Multitudes of Things intervene to divert our Minds from going in the Ship we first determined upon; that wou'd have only serv'd to carry us, with the rest of our Dear Companions, to the watery Grave.

[Page 25] IT may be we were vexatiously cross'd & disap­pointed in our Designs, Affairs & earnest Desires; and wickedly murmured at the Providence of God, while He was kindly, patiently, wonderfully work­ing for our great Deliverance. An infinite Number & Variety of Projects, Views, Inclinations, Passions, Thoughts or Fancies may be suggested to us & rai­sed in us by God's Direction; that happily sav'd us from the dreadful Gulf we were blindly & ea­gerly running into. When we are safely pass'd the Danger; we plainly see & view the wonderous Work, and with surprise & humble Joy acknow­ledg, Unless the Lord had been my Help; my Soul had quickly ^* dwelt in silence. Psal. 94. 17.

THUS have we proved & illustrated our gene­ral Observation: We come now to make a practi­cal Improvement of it. And in the

1. PLACE, Let us from Hence observe & adore the soverain Will & Distinction of Divine Provi­dence; in bringing Some to their desired Haven, while He suffers Others & even the best of Men to be overwhelmed in the Depths of the Sea.

THEY are untimely swallowed up alive in the watery Gulf, and are never to see the Light of the Living, their desired Native Shoars, or their darling Friends again!

HOW ought this to inspire those that are won­derfully preserved & bro't to Land with the lowli­est Gratitude to God their Saviour, a long lasting & affectionate Concern for the Loss of others, especially their most desirable Friends, and the [Page 26] tenderest prayerful & officious Sympathy with the Souls of their nearer sorrowful Relatives?

BUT how dark & mysterious are the Ways of God! Some are snatched away in the Flower of Age, that wou'd have been more & more De­lights, & beautiful Ornaments & useful Friends to the Welfare & Interest of their bereaved & Na­tive Country; while Others are the unworthy Care of Providence, who have fewer Indowments, a slenderer Power & a fainter Prospect of yielding Glory to their Great Deliverer, and of being ex­tensively useful to the World.

WE may very well adore in the beautiful Al­lusions of the Psalmist— Thy Judgments are a great Deep O Lord! ^* Thy Way is in the Sea, and Thy Path is in the mighty Waters, and Thy Foot­steps are not known. Psal. 77. 19.

HOWEVER, Our natural inordinate Con­cern & Amazement ought to lower & alleviate with this silencing Consideration—That the So­verain Lord of Heaven & Earth is not in the pre­sent Scene of Time obliged to give an Account of His Actions to the Children of Men. But when we shall come into the other World, or arise from the Dead & see our Friends again; the deep & puzzling Scenes of Providence will be entirely shift­ed, and in the Consummation we shall all toge­ther behold, with Surprize & ravishing Wonder, the perfect, admirable Beauty, Wisdom & Con­trivance of them.

IN the mean while we may rest assured with [Page 27] the solacing Faith & Consideration—That our God The Lord universally reigneth: and therefore, Let the Earth rejoyce, & the Multitudes of Isles be glad thereof. For tho' Clouds & Darkness are round about him; yet Righteousness & Judgment are the Ha­bitation of His Throne, and the firm, immoveable Basis of His soverain & eternal Empire. Psal. 97. 1, 2.

2. WE then that are living ashoar ought to re­joice & praise the Lord for the safe Arrival of Others out of the dangerous Seas.

IF They are our Friends & Relatives or any way dear unto us, tho' we have never known Them; it will be natural for us to meet & gratulate them with Joy and Pleasure. For Delight & Gladness do for ever arise out of Respect & Love, and will readily show themselves at the safe Arrival of their long desired Object: Especially when it comes through many Fears & Hazards, and after a Buri­al of our Hopes of ever injoying it.

BUT our Joys shou'd refine & rise from the Tast of these lower Streams of refreshing Pleasure, to the purer & more ravishing Spring from whence They flow. They shou'd ascend on aspiring Flames of Praise & Clouds of grateful Incense to the delightful View & Injoyment of that bounte­ous Heaven that showers them down.

AND when any Others that come up from the Seas and declare the Wonders of the Lord which they beheld in the Deep; we ought to unite in hearty Wonder, Thanks & Praise, and in a joyful Exaltation of the Name of God. For God does all His wondrous Works that He might receive the Glory: And therefore we withhold it from Him, if [Page 28] we don't observe them & delight in the Hearing & Repetition of them, and join with others in offer­ing the Tributes of Praise & Adoration that are due unto Him.

WHEN therefore the Psalmist had experienc'd the Goodness of God & professed— I will bless the Lord at all Times, His Praise shall be continually in my Mouth: my Soul shall make Her Boast in the Lord; He tells us— The Humble shall hear there­of & be glad, and then he calls out earnestly to them— O magnifie the Lord with me, and let us exalt His Name together! Psal. 33. 1—3.

3. THEN it becomes us to seek the Lord & put our Hope in Him for Those who are still abroad, that in due time He will bring Them also to their desired Haven.

WE have observ'd & prov'd that God the Lord has the Dominion of the Winds & Seas, and is e­very where present with them to direct & order, to raise restrain & over-rule them. It becomes us then to look & seek unto Him, & hope that He will pro­tect & lead & preserve our Friends at Sea thro' all their preplexing Hazards, & return them safe with Joy unto us. It may be that— By terrible things in Righteousness thou wilt answer us O God of our Sal­vation; Who art the Confidence of the Ends of the Earth & of them that are afar off upon the Sea: Who by His Strength setteth fast the Mountains, being girded with Power; Who stilleth the Noise of the Seas, the Noise of their Waves, & the Tumult of the (di­stressed) People. Psal. 65. 5,—7.

FOR our great Incouragement we are inform'd that our Lord Jesus Christ is ever divinely & really [Page 29] present with Them; To see their Distresses, Fears & Dangers, and hear their anxious Cries, and in their last Extremities to rebuke the Winds & Seas & save Them. And He has often shown His Power & Mercy in Answering our earnest Prayers. Ap­pearing for them in their dark and stormy Hours, and returning Them safe at length to Land.

WE have therefore sufficient Reason to commit our Friends at Sea with Hope & Resignation into the Hands of God the Lord: And to submit, how­ever, to his soverain Will concerning them. He can easily save them if He pleases: And if He does not—It is not for want of Power, But because it does not consist with his wise & just & good Designs & soverain Will: And Who will say unto Him, what doest Thou? ^* For the great Heathen Emperor was at length obliged and inspired to ac­knowledg that He doth according to His Will in the Army of Heaven, & among the Inhabitants of the Earth: And none can stay His Hand, or say unto Him—What doest Thou? Dan. 4. 35.

4. HOW then ought we that are safe arriv'd▪ To be thankful unto God that brings us, to love & praise & honour Him & give Him Glory, to de­vote ourselves unto Him & serve Him, and care­fully pay the Solemn Vows we are under.

I begin with Gratitude; Because it is a just af­fecting Sense of our Obligations, and a cordial Disposition to acknowledge them. It Inclines us first to love, esteem & prize the Person that has done us a Kindness, and then to bless him in our [Page 30] Hearts & Mouths, to praise & honour Him, and do for his Interest what we can: It is of an active Nature, & has a strong Propension to exert itself in Returns of Respect & Service.

NOTHING can be more due than all this is to God: And we that are bro't by Him to our desi­red Haven, must be the most unjust & base & stu­pid Creatures in the World, if we are not greatly thankfull to Him.

OH! then, Let us labour after such an habi­tual, lively Frame of Spirit: Without which we can never be cordially disposed to make a just Ac­knowledgement of His Goodness, or offer Him Honour, Praise & Glory, or yield a dutiful Obe­dience to Him. And in order to kindle or awa­ken such a lively Principle in us; Oh! Let us at­tentively observe the continual Train of His Mercies to us: Let us carefully lay them up in our faithful Memories, or record them in our religious Diarys: Let us often retire, & call them over in a serious manner: Let us enumerate them, and reflect on our great Necessity & Unworthiness of them. And lastly, let us raise up our Thoughts, and con­template on that wondrous & Divine Benignity, which is the perpetual Source & overflowing Foun­tain of them.

WHILE we are intently meditating on such af­fecting Things as these, & humbly praying to God to give us a powerful Sense of them; we shall doubt­less find an active Flame of gratefull Love to God a kindling in our Souls, our Minds will rise into passionate Admirations of Him, and our Hearts & Tongues will find a strong & ardent Inclina­tion [Page 31] in them to yield Him the most publick, exten­sive & perpetual Glory.

AND if we have been in dreadful Dangers on the stormy Main, or God has sav'd us from near impending Ruin; Oh! How affectionately shou'd we pore on our great Deliverance, till we find an active, pure & steady Blaze of Zeal arising & burning in Us, and breaking out with the gratefull Transport & Resolutions of the Psalmist— I will praise thee O Lord my God with all my Heart, and I will glorify thy Name for evermore; For great is Thy Mercy towards me, and thou hast delivered my Soul from the lowest Hell. Psal. 86. 12, 13.

IN fine, There is a vast Variety of lively Gra­ces to be exercised, of holy Resolutions to be form­ed, and of pious Actions to be done by those that are sav'd by God thro' the many Perils of the Seas, & arrived safe at Land. And as in a Circumstance of Danger we are ready to make our solemn Vows & Protestations to Him, If He wou'd then deliver us; Oh! Let us not now wickedly provoke Him by forgetting or neglecting of them: Let us be as zealous to perform them, as when we earnestly made them & resolved on them.

AND, to Conclude, Let us never cease to medi­tate on our former Dangers & Deliverances, and on the Lord that has led us safely thro' them, and wonderfully shown His Dominion, Power, Wisdom, tender Care & Mercy; till we can express the lively Sense & Frame of our Hearts & Souls in the Language of the 116 th Psalm, with the chief of which I close.

[Page 32] I love the Lord; Because he hath heard my Voice and my Supplications. Because He hath inclined His Ear unto me; Therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. The Sorrows of Death incompass'd me, and the Pains of Hell gat hold upon me: I found Trou­ble & Sorrow. Then called I on the Name of the Lord—O Lord I beseech thee deliver my Soul! Gracious is the Lord & righteous, Yea our God is merciful. The Lord preserveth the simple: I was bro't low, and he helped me. Return unto thy Rest O my Soul; For the Lord has dealt bountifully with Thee. For Thou hast delivered my Soul from Death, mine Eyes from Tears, and my Feet from Falling. I will walk before the Lord in the Land of the Living.—

WHAT shall I render to the Lord for all His Benefits towards Me? I will take the Cup of Salva­tion, and call upon the Name of the Lord. I will pay my Vows unto the Lord, now in the Presence of all His People.—O Lord, truly I am thy Servant, I am thy Servant, and the Son of thine Handmaid: Thou hast loosed my Bonds. I will offer to Thee the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving, and will call upon the Name of the Lord. I will pay my Vows to the Lord, now in the Presence of all His People: In the Courts of the Lord's House, in the midst of Thee, O Jerusalem! Praise Ye the LORD.