A sermon preached before the corporation of Trinity-house in Deptford Strand, at the election of their master, May XXX, 1681 by John Rogers ... Rogers, John, b. 1647. 1681 Approx. 44 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 21 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2005-10 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A57542 Wing R1818 ESTC R11375 11822933 ocm 11822933 49609 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A57542) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 49609) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 547:1) A sermon preached before the corporation of Trinity-house in Deptford Strand, at the election of their master, May XXX, 1681 by John Rogers ... Rogers, John, b. 1647. [6], 34 p. Printed by J. Macock, for Richard Royston ..., London : 1681. Reproduction of original in Cambridge University Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Bible. -- O.T. -- Jonah I, 6 -- Sermons. 2004-12 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2004-12 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2005-01 Jonathan Blaney Sampled and proofread 2005-01 Jonathan Blaney Text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-04 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion A SERMON Preached before the CORPORATION OF Trinity-House IN DEPTFORD STRAND , At the ELECTION of their MASTER , May XXX . 1681. By JOHN ROGERS , A. M. and Chaplain to the RIGHT HONOURABLE GEORGE Earl of BERKELEY . Published by their Appointment . LONDON , Printed by J. Macock , for Richard Royston , Bookseller to the Kings most Excellent Majesty . MDCLXXXI . TO THE Right Honourable GEORGE EARL of BERKELEY , Viscount DURESLEY , Lord BERKELEY of Berkeley-Castle , &c. My Lord , IN humble Obedience to Your Lordships Commands , and due Submission to a Request made to Your Lordship by the worthy Master and Gentlemen of the Corporation of Trinity-House , this Discourse which was designed by me only for the Pulpit , now begs your Lordships and those worthy Gentlemens Acceptance from the Press . The Intention of it being to perswade Sea-faring men to the Exercise of Religion and Vertue , upon Motives proper to themselves ; if , by God's Blessing upon it , it shall be a means of turning any one unto Righteousness , it will be the most ample Return I expect for this bold Adventure abroad . My Lord , if it were possible that all of your high Rank and Quality would , after your great Example , resolve to be either Encouragers of Trade , or employ their Minds in some other way as serviceable to their King , their Country , and Themselves ; we might then hope to see every one of them become , what your Lordship now is , inflexibly Loyal to his Prince , a Hearty Lover of his Country , a Great Friend to Business and Trade , and a Professed Enemy to the looseness and degeneracy of the Age. MY Lord , I am Your Lordships most humble , and most obedient Servant and Chaplain , JOHN ROGERS . A SERMON Preached before the Corporation of TRINITY-HOUSE , in Deptford-Strand , May XXX . 1681. JONAH I. 6. So the Ship-master came to him , and said unto him , What meanest thou , O Sleeper ? Arise , call upon thy God , if so be that God will think upon us that we perish not . IN this Book , we have a compendious History of the extraordinary mission of the Prophet Jonah , to preach Repentance to the Ninivites , whose wickedness had come up before the Lord. Wherein , if we consider the Circumstances that attend it , they will appear to be of a very strange and extraordinary Nature ; so seemingly opposite to the thing designed , and yet so harmonious and successful in the Event , that this Instance alone were sufficient to humble our minds , make us acquiesce under all the Dispensations of Divine Providence , rely upon God's Ways , though they be never so unlike ours , and walk submissively in his Paths , how crooked and intricate soever they may seem to be . That a poor solitary Prophet out of Israel , should enter the Streets of the great Metropolis of Assyria , Niniveh that great City , ( whose compass , say Historians , was forty eight Miles , and her Towers fifteen hundred ) nay so exceeding great , that the Prophet himself , chap. 3. ver . 3. affirms it to be three days journey within it self ; that he should there denounce woful judgment against the Inhabitants thereof , if within forty days they humbled not themselves before God ; what could possibly be expected from so daring an attempt , but that the Prophet upon the first opening of his mouth , should have immediately fell a Sacrifice to the fury of the enraged multitude ? Yet behold the contrary ! his words become quick and powerful , and sharper than a two-edged-sword ; he no sooner enters the City , and lifts up his voice , but the People believe God , and a Fast is proclaimed by a Decree of King and Nobles , a Fast of rigorous both for Man and Beast , that the like was never heard of before . Again , The word of the Lord came unto Jonah saying , Arise , go to Niniveh . The speedy execution of his Commission , one would have thought , should have been much forwarded by the near approach of the Judgment , Yet forty days , and Niniveh shall be destroyed : yet behold , he flies from the Presence of the Lord , turns away from Assyria , goes on Board at Joppa , and is bound for Cilicia ; nay , so regardless was he of his Commission , that instead of trembling in the sight of God ( for alas , Whither can he flee from his presence ? If he take the wings of the morning , and dwell in the uttermost parts of the Sea , even there shall his right hand hold him ) so regardless was he , I say , of the heavenly voice , and the Judgment consequent upon so great Disobedience , that he lays himself down in perfect security , is not to be awakened either by the loudness of the Winds , or the roaring of the Waters ; till at last admonished by a Heathen he is content to be cast over-board , and takes up an unheard-of Lodging in the Belly of a Whale ( which by the way must give occasion for that Story of Hercules mentioned by Lycophron , who calls him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , because he was preserved three nights in the Belly of a Fish. ) Now that all these so seemingly untoward accidents , should be so wisely managed in the Event , as to mightily advantage that End which they appeared so much directly to oppose ; this plainly shews , that such things are the Lords doings , and ought to be marvellous in our eyes . Yet upon these strange occurrences , 't is probable , the Mariners could not forbear spreading the report of them , which at last reaching Niniveh , might prepare the Prophets way , possess the people that he could not come to them but by a Miracle , that he was a Person extraordinarily sent of God , and by this means gain credit and success to his Preaching . Now among all the Passages of this History , I have made choice of that which concerns the Prophet's behaviour whilst out at Sea ; as being most suitable to the present Occasion , and most agreeable to my Design , which is to be as practical as I can : — What meanest thou , O Sleeper ? Arise , call upon thy God , if so be that God will think upon us that we perish not . In speaking to which words , I shall do these following things : I. Shew , That the proper Effect of Dangers by Sea , should be to awaken mens minds , and raise them up unto Acts of Devotion ; What meanest thou , O Sleeper ? Arise , call upon thy God. II. The great Encouragement men have to do this , from the especial Providence of God over Sea-affairs ; If so be that God will think upon us , that we perish not . And , III. I shall crave leave to answer some Objections which this Discourse may be thought liable unto . I. That the proper Effect of Dangers by Sea should be to awaken mens minds , and raise them up unto acts of Devotion ; What meanest thou , O Sleeper ? Arise , call upon thy God. To call upon God in times of Danger and Distress , is natural to mankind ; but no kind of Dangers have such an aptitude in them to rouse the Spirits of men , and make them think what their condition is towards God , as those which sea-faring men are frequently exposed to . S t Paul recounting the dangers he had passed through in preaching the Gospel to the Nations , begins with perils in the deep , and again twice repeats it in the same verse , in perils of water , in perils in the Sea ; as if those alone were the great afflictions he would most glory in : and the Philosopher accounted men at Sea to be but a kind of Borderers between the living and the dead . They that go down to the Sea in Ships , saith the Psalmist , they see the works of the Lord , and his wonders in the deep ; i. e. the great and mighty works of the Creation , and the extraordinary wonders of God's Providence , are so apparent to these mens eyes that they cannot but consider them , and take especial notice of the dangers they pass through . And however custom may in time wear off all Sense of danger , yet can it never lessen it , as will appear by considering these three things : ( 1. ) The Suddenness of those calamities which may happen to sea-faring men ; ( 2. ) The Number of them ; and ( 3. ) Their Frequency . For their Suddenness , there are no kind of accidents to which the lives of men are subject , that are so sure and swift Executioners as those which lye in wait for Mariners . A man may linger out his days under a sore Disease ; and though some fiercer kinds may sooner seize upon his Vitals , yet rarely is Death this way so swift of foot as not to give some Warning to the Patient , and by alarming his Conscience make him so to consider his latter end as to apply his heart to Wisdom and Repentance . But alas ! 't is far otherwise in the condition I am now speaking of ; a man may see a Cloud no bigger than his hand , yet in a moment its waters shall overwhelm him , and the Deep shall swallow him up quick , before he shall be able to arise , and call upon his God. The consideration of this cannot but inform you what obligations you have above other men to be always in a readiness , and diligently to watch , because you know not in what hour this sad calamity may fall upon you . Watch therefore , for you know not what hour the Lord doth come . But know this , That if the good man of the house had known in what watch the Thief would come , he would have watched , and would not have suffered his house to be broken up . Therefore be you also ready , for in such an hour as you think not , the Son of man cometh . For the Number of the dangers , they become yet more terrible , and beyond my abilities to recount . The dangers of the Waters beneath , the falling of Spouts from above , the Rocks and Quicksands , the tempestuous Winds and Hurricanes without , any small Leak within , one Spark in the Gun-room , nay one wry step is sufficient to dispatch a man , and send him quick into another World. And can any one in his right senses reflect upon these things , and yet neglect the working out his salvation with fear and trembling ? Consider but in what an Amazement must that wretched man be , who passes immediately with Oaths and Execrations in his mouth , to make his appearance before the Judgment-Seat of Christ ; What a surprize must it needs be unto him , when he awakens in another World , and begins then to call upon his God when he can expect no other Answer than , I know you not , depart from me you wicked into everlasting fire , prepared for the Devil and his Angels ! Again , For the Frequency of the dangers , they are yet more formidable ; because this will certainly convince you that these sad Afflictions are not only possible , but common unto men , and that for ought any one knows to the contrary his own turn is next . Now that the dangers which sea-faring men are exposed to are frequent and common , and do ordinarily happen unto them , there needs no other Argument to convince you than your own experience of them ; the many rescues you have had out of the very Jaws of Death , those many , and even miraculous , deliverances which you cannot but be sensible of , and which have happened to you even then when all hopes of escape seemed to be quite taken away . I should not have mentioned this particular , but that I am afraid it is an opinion too common amongst you , That since the great improvements of Navigation , and the daily advancement of Knowledge in Sea-affairs , the Ocean is now rendred so passable and secure , that the Accidents seem not to exceed those which men in general are exposed to ; and yet out of your own mouths may you be convinced , since it is hardly possibly to find one sea-faring man , who is not able to recount as many dangers as voyages , and does not after a long and perillous absence from home , esteem it almost a resurrection from the dead to recover his native Shore again . Now if these things were but once throughly considered and laid to heart , one would think it almost impossible there should be any such Monster in the World as a loose and irreligious Sea-man , and that these are they of all men who live soberly , righteously and godly in this present world , who pray continually , and call upon their God , and are least obnoxious to inconsideration and stupidity ; that these are they who live in a perpetual sense of the protecting Arm of God , and a continual dread of his Majesty , in whom , after an extraordinary manner , they live and move , and have their being , and that if this sort of warfare cannot perswade men , neither will they be perswaded though one should rise to them from the dead ; there being nothing in this World which in its own nature can tend more to the awakening of mens minds , and bring them over into the ways of Religion and Vertue , than that perillous state they live in , through the suddenness , the number and frequency of those calamities which are always incident to sea-faring men . I come therefore to shew , II. What great encouragement you have to call upon God , from the consideration of his especial Providence over Sea-affairs ; If so be that God will think upon us , that we perish not . And whoever considers how full and express the Scriptures are in the declaration of this truth , he will at the same time be inclined to think , That though Gods Providence and his mercy are over all his works , yet the great strokes of his Divine Arm are made most manifest in the Deep . For he it is who commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind , which lifteth up the waves of the Sea. He gathereth the waters of the Sea together as an heap , and layeth up the depth in his store-houses ; he treadeth upon the waves of the Sea , and stilleth the noise of the Seas , and the noise of their waves ; he ruleth the raging of the Sea , and when the waves thereof arise , he stilleth them . Fear ye not me , saith the Lord ? will ye not tremble at my presence , which have placed the Sand for the Bound of the Sea , by a perpetual Decree , that it cannot pass it , and though the waves thereof toss themselves , yet can they not prevail , though they roar , yet can they not pass over it ? And what an encouragement must it needs be to serve and fear that God , who is thus able to think upon you that you perish not ? It cannot but be highly your concern to engage this Providence on your side , which is only able to deliver you , unless you can pretend like Xerxes to stop the raging of the Sea , by casting Manacles and Fetters into the Hellespont ; which he was as able to perform as thou art to bind the sweet influences of Pleiades , or loose the bands of Orion . Alas ! these are the Ordinances of Heaven , and from hence alone must we expect to be delivered out of our distress . But tell me , O wretched man , whoever thou art , that art not used to call upon thy God but in thy Oaths and Blasphemies , which way canst thou promise to thy self security , whilst thou thinkest thus to out-face God , and defie the Almighty when he hath got thee fast ( if I may so speak ) in the very Element of his wrath . What meanest thou , O Sleeper ? Dost thou presumptuously go on because thy misfortunes hitherto have not been worse than other mens ? Despisest thou the riches of God's goodness , and forbearance , and long suffering ; not knowing that the goodness of God should lead thee to repentance ? but after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thy self wrath against the day of wrath , and revelation of the righteous judgment of God , who ( when the Sea shall give up her dead ) will render to every man according to his deeds . 'T is true , how much soever we call upon our God , yet on the other hand may we still fail of a deliverance , and there is no reason to expect that the event must punctually answer our desires , unless we were as able to judge for our selves as infinite wisdom it self is . But although ordinarily it cannot be supposed that every good man should hear the voice of God ( whose he is , and whom he serves ) speaking to him after the same manner as once to the Apostle Saint Paul ; Fear not , thou must be brought before Caesar , and lo I have given thee all them that sail with thee ; though , I say , it were unjustifiable thus to presume upon extraordinary acts of Providence , yet does it not at all follow from hence that good men are not entituled to the mercies and deliverances of God , and the bad are not sometimes examples of his vengeance . This is plainly acknowledged by the Philosopher , when he bespoke his wretched Companions after this manner , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. Hold your peace ( says he ) lest the gods knowing that you sail with us , we all perish for your sakes . III. I come now to answer some Objections which this Discourse may be thought liable unto . And the most plausible that I can think of are these that follow : 1. That Religion is apt to inject fear into mens minds , which must needs render it very improper for sea-faring men . 2. It will take up too much of your time , and slacken your endeavours in cases of imminent danger . 3. That the Knowledge of the Seas is rather apt to draw men off from the belief of a God and Providence , than to settle and establish them in it . And if these things be so , I have lost my labour , all my advice is in vain . But let us see of what force these Objections are , before we and our Religion so easily part . And , 1. 'T is said , That Religion is apt to inject fear into mens minds , which must needs render it very improper for sea-faring men . For , it being already granted that throughout the whole visible Creation , there is not to be found such another Scene of astonishing dangers , as men sometimes meet with out at Sea ; when they are on all sides terrified with grim Messengers of death , and , as the Psalmist well expresseth it , they reel to and fro , and stagger like a drunken man , and are at their wits end : It will then follow , that they of all men in the World have at such time the greatest need of an undaunted courage , and a bold and resolute mind . But this cannot otherwise be obtained , than by casting off all apprehensions of Death and Hell , and a Judgment to come ; which will so infeeble mens minds and prey upon their Spirits , that the effect of dwelling upon such thoughts will certainly appear to be an heartless and despairing condition ; and since it were the best way to overlook all those terrours which are so visible about us , what reason is there that we should create new ones which are not seen , and raise a more formidable enemy within our selves . In answer to this , First , I yield partly to what the Objection supposes , That bad men when their lives are in real danger , have the terrours of the Lord upon them , and a fearful expectation of a Judgment to come : and if men will venture out at Sea with evil habits about them , and laden with iniquity , there is no help for it if the fears of Death and a Judgment consequent upon it , shall naturally accompany and overset them . There is no other possible remedy in this case but one , and that is , That such men would deal by their sins , as the Mariners in the Verse before my Text were forced to do by their wares , get rid of them as speedily as they can , that by so doing they may lighten the Vessel , and having laid aside every weight , and the sin which doth so easily beset them , they may run with patience that race which is set before them . But then , Secondly , On the other hand , it is as certain that nothing inspires men more with true courage and bravery of resolution than Religion and Vertue . For when men have got at liberty from their Lusts , and are become Masters of themselves , and have abandoned the soft Paths of ease and luxury ; as in times of the greatest difficulty and hazard , they will far exceed other men in sagacity and presence of mind ( and consequently in a happy discovery of the best means of escape ) so will they also truly become better inabled to undergo the worst of hardships , and to weather out the most violent Storms : and whereas the wicked are full of inward disconsolations and fearful abodings , which so distract their minds , that they are already sunk in despair ; the vertuous man is secure of God's Providence on his side , and is certainly assured , That whatever the success of his endeavours be , he shall be still on the victorious Party : for he well knows that that God whom he serves will either deliver him out of his present calamities , or will bring him to his last , his best and most desired Haven . And now what is there that shall be able to dismantle the spirit of a man thus fortified ? or rob him of his resolution and his courage ? both which , like a wise man , he hath founded upon a Rock , and let the rain descend , the floods come , and the winds beat upon him , 't is to no purpose , they can never fall , for he hath built them upon a Rock . On the contrary , how does Vice naturally tend to debase mens spirits , and render them cowardly and effeminate , unfit to sustain those many ( and oftentimes lasting ) severities which a sea-warfare does expose them to ; either through foulness of weather , inhumanity of strangers , scarcity and badness of provision , indisposition of body passing through various Climes , &c. and , what is worse than all these outward calamities , ( to make up the vicious mans condition compleatly miserable ) he hath also a galled Conscience within , and is so continually tossed with restless and perplexing thoughts , that he becomes like the troubled Sea before him , which cannot rest , and whose waters cast up mire and dirt . I have the longer insisted upon this Point , because I am sensible I speak to those who , of all men living , are the most jealous of their courage and fortitude , and therefore shall not be blamed by you , if I establish them upon their true foundations . But then , 2. It is urged , That Religion will take up too much of your time , and slacken your endeavours in cases of imminent danger . In times of fatal concern , when the unruly Element becomes boisterous and ungovernable , and plays with the goodliest Vessel as easily as the Leviathan sports with an empty Cask ; when all on a sudden the Ocean becomes a confused Chaos , heighth and depth , light and darkness are mingled together ; then , when all hands should be at work , and every pull seems to be the last tug for life ; then , I say , for a man to betake himself to his prayers , or with the Prophet , go down into the sides of the Ship ▪ there lay himself down to sleep ( though perhaps the next moment it may prove his last ) or , what is much the same thing , there fling himself wholly upon Gods Protection , rely upon his Providence , and rest assured that nothing but a Divine hand can save and deliver him : what is this but to render men useless in their Arts , insensible of their danger , and even to betray them out of their lives ? and if this be the effect of calling upon God , it were as good men should shipwrack their faith as themselves . In reply to this , S t Paul's Rule holds good , That if any would not work , neither should they eat . Idleness and sloth , vain presumption and causeless security are so far from being countenanced by Religion , that it lays the greatest obligations upon men to the contrary . It charges diligence and industry upon mens Consciences , and lets them know that they must one day give a severe account for the misuse of that time which once lost can never be regained ; it tells them , That though they should be careless of themselves , yet no consideration ought to make them prodigal of the lives of other men , where all things must happen alike to all , and there will be but one event to the righteous and to the wicked , to him that sweareth , and to him that feareth an Oath . But now what hinders that men cannot reconcile their business and their devotions together , and let their minds be well employed however their Bodies are exercised ? Sure I am , this would be so far from hindring you in your labours , how urgent and pressing soever they may be , that it will make you undergo them with much greater alacrity and cheerfulness of mind and sweet hopes of success ; for to entertain serious thoughts , to put up a prayer to God , and with the Disciples of our Lord to cry out Lord save us , we perish , will add a great Spur to your endeavours . I come now , 3. To consider , Whether the Knowledge of the Seas is rather apt to draw men off from the belief of a God and Providence , than to settle and confirm them in it . This Objection , I confess , is home to the business , and if this be true , what I have already said may pass for nothing . But let us examine those Reasons which seem to prop up this Opinion ; and they are these that follow : First , That by the Knowledge of the Seas men discover many useless parts of the Creation . Secondly , They get considerable Instances against the universality of the Notion of God. First , That by the Knowledge of the Seas are discovered many useless parts of the Creation . This hath been frequent in the mouths of bad men , and is an opinion which their old Champion Lucretius hath so garnished and tricked up with Poetry , that the gilded Pill hath passed very glibly with loose and inconsidering men . What use of the torrid and frigid Zones ? to what purpose serve the barren Deserts , inaccessible Mountains and craggy Rocks ? will not the Sea willingly resign up her Hurricanes , and Afric spare all her Monsters , &c. Thus is God's Providence called in question , and his infinite Wisdom arraigned ; nay the bolder sort scoff at the workmanship of his hands , and take up that blasphemous Speech of the insolent Spaniard , Si Creationi affuissem , Mundum melius ordinâssem : had I been present at the making of the World , I could have disposed things after a better sort . Now , besides that the torrid Zone is well known by you to be habitable , and a considerable part also of the frigid , and that both serve very wise ends and purposes ; besides this , the inclination of the Axis of the Earth is so admirably proportioned for the making it as habitable as possible , that the joint wit of mankind is not able to imagine the least circumstance in which it might have been mended . And for those other things which seem so hurtful to the World , though it were sufficient to reply in the words of the Son of Sirach , That there be Spirits that are created for vengeance , which in their fury lay on sore strokes , in the time of destruction , they pour out their force and appease the wrath of him that made them ; fire and hail , famine and death , all these were created for vengeance : though , I say , there needs no other Answer than this , yet I think it sufficient once for all to know , That things of admirable use in themselves may to our understandings appear quite otherwise , and to be of no use at all . Of which take this considerable Instance ; There was a time not many Ages ago , when the World no doubt esteemed of the Magnet no more than of a despicable Stone , part of the Rubbish of the Creation , or at best but some of the Ballast of the Globe ; but I need not tell you ( to borrow the words of a learned Prelate of our Church ) how by the application of a Needle to this Stone you get the mastery of the unruly Ocean , ride securely upon the back of the dark waters , and make it supply the place of the Stars in Heaven ; how by the help of this you examine all the Chambers of the Sun , and imitate him in compassing the World ; how you go out at the East and teturn again from the West , return laden with the Treasuries of the World ; how by the help of this you settle a correspondence betwixt the most distant places of the World , and open a traffick between Nations concealed from the knowledge of one another almost ever since the floating of the Ark. But what do I speak of these things ? By the assistance of this you display the Banner of Christ in the Regions of Death and Hell , and shed forth the glorious light of the Gospel to the people that sit in darkness , and in the shadow of Death . Now what sensible analogy or correspondence is there betwixt a Stone and these glorious effects which proceed from it ? This Instance alone might be sufficient to confound the sinful curiosities of men , and stop the mouth of the most plausible Gainsayer . I come therefore , Secondly , To consider the remaining part of the Objection , which is , That by the knowledg of the Seas men get considerable Instances against the universality of the Notion of a God , and upon that account are inclinable to be drawn off from the belief of his Being . For it cannot be denied that upon some Eastern , but especially Western , Discoveries there have been found a sort of people amongst whom it was difficult , if at all possible , to discern the least footsteps of Religion , or any notices of a supreme Being ; which , say they , is a plain reason that the Notion of a Deity is not congenite , because not common and universal to mankind . But granting as much as this Objection supposes , That there are to be found such rude and barbarous people in the World that just differ from beasts only by a scanty language and a humane shape , so far unskilled in Arts , and the most obvious deductions from sense , as to want Logick sufficient to clothe their nakedness , or but tolerably purvey for their Stomachs ; granting , I say , there are such men to be found , who know nothing in the World beyond themselves , and are perfectly without God in the World ; yet will it not from hence follow , that amongst people whose minds are used to consideration , and their faculties duly exercised , any one national Instance of the like nature can be found : sufficient it is , that as soon as we are able to approve our selves men by the use and exercise of our reason and understanding , the Notion of a God becomes so agreeable to us , that our Nature seems to stand bent that way , and we cannot deny the one without using violence to the other . And now , having done with what I at first proposed to speak unto , give me leave to apply this Discourse by offering to your consideration these two things : 1. The especial Providence of God to this Nation in relation to Sea-affairs . 2. What suitable returns were proper for you to make for so great benefits which he hath done unto you . 1. Consider the especial Providence of God to this Nation in relation to Sea-affairs . And whether we consider the scituation of our Country , the temper of our Climate , the advantage of our Shipping , or the nature and constitution of our Trade , we have every where great reason to bless God , and to acknowledge he hath not dealt so with many Nations . By the scituation of our Country we are encompassed with Seas , surrounded every where with commodious Havens . If we turn our faces to the South , there is a vast prospect before us , and unknown Regions call upon us ; the Northern Parts are our Neighbours and Acquaintance , and on the one hand we have the old World , and on the other the new . So that our Island seems by Providence designed to be the very Center of Navigation and Trade , and that it shall one day be the glory of our great City what was anciently that of Tyre , That the Harvest of the River is her revenues , and She is the Mart of Nations . The temper of our Climate is so auspicious , that as we are not scorched on the one hand , so neither are we frozen on the other , but enjoy a seasonable and moderate revolution of heat and cold ; the great advantages of which , you that are continually passing through several Climes are much more sensible of than I can be ; how by this means you become better enabled to endure extremities of Zones , and by your happy Constitutions seem to be so equally disposed for all places , that you may every one challenge upon a natural account , what the Philosopher did upon a moral , the reputation of being Citizens of the World. But alas ! how would the Russian dissolve under the Line , and a Native of Guinea grow stiff upon the Coasts of Spitsberge ? In the advantages of our Shipping we so exceedingly surpass all others , that beside , that the most fundamental and necessary parts thereof are the growth of our own Forests , we do also for art and workmanship ( as God once taught Bezaleel and Aboliab their skill ) seem to be instructed from above , and our Axes and Hammers Divinely taught to do their work . And when I have given to God the things which are his , the glory and the praise ; it cannot be thought unreasonable to give Caesar his due , under whose kindly influence and protection Navigation seems to be grown up to its perfect stature , who not only ( after the example of the wisest of Kings ) gives order in our Ezion-geber for a Royal Navy , but ( what the Scriptures mention not of him ) is himself also a Master-builder , and in this Instance is a truer representative of the great Architect of the World than all the Princes in Christendome beside , who can in the same language instruct his Artificers with which God appointed the Patriarch to build his Ark , This is the fashion which thou shalt make it of , these are the rooms which you shall make in it , this shall be the length , and breadth , and heighth thereof , and thus shall you pitch it within and without . The nature and constitution of our Trade is such , that it promises a lasting endurance , and the fairest hopes of a yet further advance , Traffick being setled with us upon as sure and solid foundations as the encouragement of a most Gracious Prince , and the best compacted Societies can bestow upon it . I am not ignorant that this last is so far from being reckoned a priviledge by some , that they account it the great remora of Trade : I presume not to enter into the merits of the Cause , it being as much beside my business , as it is beyond my skill ; but it is to be feared the great outcry for liberty of Trade is near of kin to that for liberty of Conscience , which to our sorrows we have experienced was only a politick fetch of a Party to lay all in common , till such time as they could get sufficient power and strength to inclose all for themselves , then change their Note , and much more stifly oppose that common benefit for which they themselves were so lately Advocates . But on which side soever the advantage lyes , this is sure , That the ancient Glory of Tyre is become the present condition of this Nation , since our Merchants are Princes , and our Traffickers the Honourable of the Earth . 2. Let us consider , What suitable returns were proper for you to make for all these benefits which God hath done unto you . And I think you cannot give a greater and more proper demonstration of your thankfulness for these so great mercies , than the sincere practice of these following Duties : First , A zealous endeavour after the propagation of true Religion . Secondly , Walking honestly towards them which are without . And , Thirdly , A thankful remembrance of the dangers you have escaped . First , A zealous endeavour after the propagation of true Religion . This is the noblest end of Navigation , and the most profitable Plantation you can make , to spread the glorious light of the Gospel , and deliver men from the powers of Hell and darkness ; it will consecrate all your Returns from abroad , and render your merchandise holiness unto the Lord ; and what more suitable return can you make unto God for his manifold blessings bestowed upon you , than to make your selves Instruments of turning men from Idols to serve that living God. And that you may not be unready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you , the excellent Grotius hath furnished you with invincible Arguments against the Gentile , Jew and Mahometan ; and to make up that Armour compleat , you may find lately added unto it a Shield of the true Faith , wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery Darts of the Church of Rome . How much more proper a Companion would this be for you , where by Calms and contrary Winds you are sometimes put to it for diversions , than such unmanly exercises which tend only to the scandal of your Religion , the corrupting of your Constitutions , and the eternal perdition of your souls ? But , Secondly , Another proper return to God for his benefits unto you , would be a walking honestly towards them which are without . To preserve , as the Apostle speaks , a good Conscience , by having your conversation honest among the Gentiles ; that whereas they speak against you as evil Doers , they may by your good works which they shall behold , glorifie God in the day of visitation . For when all is done a good life is the best Argument in the World ▪ nor can you bring greater Glory to God , nor remove worse scandal from our most holy Religion , than by letting your light so shine before men ; that they may see your good works , and glorifie your Father which is in Heaven . For , as one out of his own experience hath observed , Quod Barbari fidem nostram de moribus judicant ; proclivius quippe est quod videas credere , quam quod audias , & rarò persuadet factis sermo contrarius : That the barbarous people do always judge of our Faith according to our lives , it being much easier to give credit to what a man sees , than what he hears , and rarely will that discourse perswade which is accompanied with contrary actions . Thirdly , and lastly , A thankful remembrance of the dangers you have escaped is a most proper return to make to God for all the wonders of his mercy . There are many of you here , such lasting Monuments of Gods Providence , that in a good old Age , you can perhaps reckon more dangers you have escaped than you can summ up years ; O therefore praise the Lord for his goodness , and his wonders that he doth for the Children of men . Let no miracle of his love escape your notice , but let every one of them find some room in your Journals , that you may know how good and gracious the Lord hath been unto you . This is a just Sacrifice of praises and thanksgivings , yet I will have mercy , saith the Lord , and not sacrifice , i. e. God is well pleased with the former when it becomes a means and cause of the latter . And indeed your Alms are the best memorial that can come up before God , who for his mercies to us hath enjoined us pity and compassion to our Brethren , for in as much as you have done it unto one of the least of these my Brethren , you have done it unto me , saith our Saviour . But what need I animate this worthy Society , and provoke a Duty so good and acceptable to you , for your works already praise you , and the prayers of the poor and destitute do light upon you . May their prayers and your blessings still accompany each other , till at last you come to hear that joyful Euge , Come ye blessed of my Father , inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world . For I was an hungred , and ye gave me meat ; I was thirsty , and ye gave me drink , &c. Now to God the Father , God the Son , and God the Holy Ghost , to the ever blessed and glorious Trinity , three Persons and one God , be all honour and praise now and for evermore . Amen . FINIS . Notes, typically marginal, from the original text Notes for div A57542-e410 Heb. 4. 12. Chap. 1. ver . 1 , 2. Chap. 3. ver . 4. Psal. 139. 7 , 9 , 10. Jo. Tzetzes in Lycophr . initio Cassand . Psal. 118. 23. Vide Bishop Wilkins Beauty of Providence . 2 Cor. 11. 25 , 26. Psal. 107. 23 , 24. 1 Kings 18. 44 , Matth. 24. 42 , 43 , 44. Philip. 2. 12. Matth. 25. 41. Qui nescit orare , discat navigare . Psal. 107. 25. Psal. 33. 7. Psal. 65. 7. Psal. 89. 9. Jer. 5. 22. Herodotus . Job 38. 31. Rom. 2. 4 , 5. 6. Apoc. 20. 13. Acts 27. 24. Psal. 107. 27. Heb. 12. 1. Matth. 7. 24 , 25. Isai. 57. 20. 2 Thess. 3. 10. Eccles. 9. 2. Matth. 8. 25. Ecclus. 39. 28 ; 29. Bishop Ward 's Essay of the immortality of the Soul. Luke 1. 79. Isai. 23. 3. Exod. 31. 3. 1 Kings 9. 26. Gen. 6. 14 , 15. Isal. 23. 8. Isai. 23. 18. 1. Thess. 1. 9. 1. Pet. 3. 15. Ephes. 6. 16. 1 Pet. 2. 12. Matth. 5. 16. Acosta , lib. 4. cap. 5. Psal. 107. 8. Hos. 6. 6. Acts 10. 4. Matth. 25. 40. Matth. 25. 34 , 35.