IILOR'S COMPANION I IG-ED .1. K. DAVIS, i- , N K \V > X <_ PS C -5 '-5 fe^ I cc w H 5 - " oc | X 2 > a o3 h^ 3 d i w fl >, ,: o - ^. CO (5 OC oc 58778 X - REQUEST AT REFERENCE DESK BY ABOVE CALL NUMBERS Kl APR 2^*87 (UNCATALOGED) (Lib-295) UOOD LIBKHKT THE SAILOR'S COMPANION SELECTED AND ARRANQED nr J. K. DAVIS. OBAFLAIlf AT TROT, NKW TOES. " And them Solomon, my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind ; for the Ix>ri tearcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imagina.'ions of the thoughts ; if thou seek him he will be found of thee ; but if thoa for Bftka him, he will cast thee off forever." 1 CHRONICLKS, 28, 'JA. NEW YORK: ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS. BSD BRO A nw A Y 1804. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in ihe yeai 1620, BY ROBERT CARTER, h. the District Court of the United States lor the Southern District tt Vew iork. TKIHOTYFKD Bt B i 1. 1 . i N & ni:o's 10 North William-tt CONTENTS Extracts frt m Persuasives to Early Piety, . , 5 A sea Infidel converted, ..... The Seamen's Cause, ..... 47 A pious Captain's Prayer and Reflections at Sea, 48 Worship at Sea, 51 The Way to be Saved, 57 The Case of Seamen, 63 A Blasphemer Converted, ..... 69 Vice Progressive, . 73 The Aged Sailor entering the Harbor, ... 78 Bethel Summaries. ........ 81 The Sabbath at Sea, ..".... 85 She being Dead yet Speaketh, .... 88 Madness from Strong Drink, 90 Who Slew all These 1 91 Intemperance among Seamen, 93 Navy 94 The Carter of Dundee, 95 Sanctification of the Sabbath, ..... 100 Religion in Ships, ....... 106 Conversion of the Rev Joseph Eastburn . . 110 His Preaching to Sailors, . . . . . .112 His Death. ... .... 113 The Life- Buoy of *he Soul, 117 Incidents in a Sailor's Life 1 , 123, 129, 134, 140, 146, 153, 159 The Prisoner's Address to his Mother, . . . 165 The Sailor Kneeling by his Chest 167 Extracts from . Captain's Diary, . . . .168 The First Bethel on the Lakes, . .171 A Christian, . . ITSl THE SAILOR'S COMPANION, EXTRACTS FROM PERSUASIVES TO EARLY PIETY, BY REV. J. G. PIKE. " MY young friend, if a person could rise from the dead to speak to you ; could come from the other world to tell you what he had seen there, how attentively would you listen to his discourse, and how much would you be affected by it! Yet a messenger from the dead could not tell you more important things than those to which I now be- seech your attention. I come to entreat you to give your heart to God ; to follow the divine Sav- iour now ; and to walk in the pleasant paths of early piety. that I could, with all the fervor of a dying man, beseech you to attend to your only great concerns ! for of how little consequence is this poor transient world to you. who have an eter- nal world to mind ! It is not to a trifle that I call your attention, but to your life, your all. your eter- nal all, your God, your Saviour, your heaven, your every thing that is worth a thought or a wish. Do not let a stranger be more anxious than Yourself for your eternal welfare. If you have been thought- less hitherto, be serious now. It is time you were SO. You have wasted years enough. Think of R INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS*. Sir Francis Walsingham's words : ' While we laugl all things are serious around us. God is serious, who preserves us ; Christ is serious, who shed his blood for us ; the Holy Spirit is serious, when he strives with us ; the whole creation is serious in serving God and us ; all are serious in another world ; how suitable then is it for man to be seri- ous ! and how can we be gay and trifling ?' i; " Do you smile at this grave address, and say, This is the cant of enthusiasm? 0, think, that those who laughed at these solemn truths when the last hundred years began, now laugh no more ! The friendly warning may be neglected, and the truths of the Bible disbelieved ; but death and eternity will soon force on the most careless heart, a deep conviction, that religion is the one thing needful. " Yes, my young friend, one thing is needful ; so said the Lord of life : needful to you, to me, to all. The living neglect it, but the dead know its value. Every saint in heaven feels the worth of religion through partaking of the blessings to which it leads ; and every soul in hell knows its value by its want. It is only on earth that triflers arc to be found ; and will you be one of them ? God forbid ! " Reader, I beseech you, read this little book with erious prayer. Remember that it is your welfare which is sought. I wish you to be happy here, aud when time is past, happy forever. Fain would I persuade you to seek a refuge in the skies, and friends that never fail. I plead with you a more important cause than was ever conducted before an earthly judge. Not one which concerns time only ; but which concerns a long eternity. Not one on which a little wealth or reputation do- INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS. 7 pends ; but one on which eternal poverty or eter- nal riches, eternal glory or eternal shame, a smiling or a frowning God, an eternal heaven, or an eter- nal hell, are all depending. And it is your cause I plead, and not my own ; and shall I plead your tause to yourself in vain ? " I know, my young friend, how apt we are to read the most serious calls as if they were mere formal things, of little more consequence to us than the trifles recorded in a newspaper. But do not thus read this little book. Believe me, I am in earnest with you ; and read, I entreat you, what follows, as a serious message which I have from God for you " Consider what will be your thoughts of the ad- vice here given you a hundred years hence. Long before that time, you will have done with this world forever. Then your now vigorous and youthful body will be turned to dust, and your name prob- ably forgotten upon earth ; yet your immortal soul will be living in another world, and far more sen- sible of joy or grief, than it can possibly be now. " Then, my young friend, you will think of this friendly warning ; how happy you will be if you have followed the advice it contains ! Fancy not that it will be then forgotten. Calls and mercies forgotten here, must be remembered there, when every sin is brought to the sinner's memory. If now you think me over-earnest, you wi.l not then entertain the same opinion. If now you slight this humble effort for promoting your salvation, and carelessly or contemptuously throw this book aside, if then ten thousand worlds were yours, they would appear a trifle, for another season of salva- tion, like that you now enjoy, and which, perhaps, you now waste. But now is your day of grace j then, another geueratku will have theirs. INTRODUCTORY " Think again, that while you are reading this, thousands are rejoicing in heaven, that they, in past years, attended to such earnest calls. Onee they were as careless as you may have teen, but divine grace disposed them to listen to the word of life. They regarded the warnings addressed to them : they found salvation ; they are gone to rest ; and now with what pleasure they may recall the fervent sermon, or the little book, that under God first awakened their attention, and first impressed their hearts ! Think also, that while you are read- ing these lines, millions of wretched souls, in utter darkness and despair, are cursing that desperate madness which led them to turn a deaf ear to such friendly warnings, once addressed to them. my young friend, I beseech you, by the joys of saints in heaven, and the ten thousand sinners in hell, trifle no longer with this affectionate call ! Did we feel the thousandth part of the worth of an im- nortal soul, I might abhor myself for writing so Joldly ; and you blush and be confounded, at hav- ing needed warning to seek its welfare. It is im- possible to be earnest enough with you: if you ever know the worth of true piety, you will be convinced that it is. Did we see thousands asleep on the brink of a precipice, and some every mo- ment falling and dying, could we too earnestly en- deavor to awaken those not yet undone? my young friend, if you have been a careless triflei with the Gospel of Christ, danger infinitely worsej eternal danger threatens you ! Awake, awake ' I beseech you, awake before it is too late ! beforo eternity seals your doom ! before God forgets to be gracious ! Awake ! as in the sight of God I call on you, awake ! close not your eyes to sleep i bin again ! Lest PRAYER OF THE READER. You should shortly feel The sle;per sleeps no more in hell. Awake ! I beseech you, and begin to inind thai ne thing, which is so needful to yon. Perhaps all I urge to gain your attention is urged in vain. And shall it be so ? Will you slight your God, and make your own destruction sure ? Alas ! if you will, what must be your condition soon 1 13ut let me hope better of you, and offer you one re- quest : look up to God, in the following prayer, and beg his mercy on your precious arid immortal soul. " Great God, thou seest me, a, young and thought- less creature. Young as I am in years, yet far have I gone in sin. So far that thou mightest justly have said with respect to me, ' Cut down that cumberer of the ground ;' and had that dread- ful sentence been long ago pronounced and exe- cuted, I must have owned it just. My years are few, but my sins are many ; more numerous are they than my days or hours ; more countless than the hairs of my head. Alas ! blessed God, what a part have I acted ! I have received life from* thee. and employed it in neglecting and sin- ning against thee. I might have died at my birth, have seen the light and closed my eyes in death, but thou didst watch over me in infancy, didst guard me in childhood, and hast brought me to the blooming days of youth ; and how have I re- quited thee ? Wretch that I have been, to requite thy love with ingratitude, thy goodness with neg- lect. Distracted creature that I have been, to spend the flower of my years in grieving thee, my best friend ; in pleasing Satan, my infernal foe , and in undoing my own immortal soul. 0, make 10 THE FALLEN SI ATE OF MAlf. me sensible of my sin ; teach me to bewail and loathe my folly, and help me to forsake it !' Now let me begin to live that life, which, on a dying bed, I shall wish to have lived. Pour out thy Spirit on me, for he alone can teach me what thott art. Give me to thy Son, and thy Son to me. Teach me to regard the truths I read. May the persuasives and motives here presented to me. reach my heart, and may I be no longer the thoughtless creature I have hitherto been ; but may I choose that good part which shall never be taken away from me. Teach me what I am, and lead me to Jesus Christ, thy once crucified, but now exalted Son. 0. make me thine ! O Saviour, make me thine ! God of glory, make me thine without delay, and teach me all thy will ! Then, whatever be the instrument that awakens my soul, thine shall be the praise, for it is thy work, and the glory is justly thine. Hear me, thou most merciful Father, and wash my sins away in aton- ing blood ; hear me, and let my youth from this day be devoted to thee ; hear me for the sake of thy beloved Son : and now to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, as to the King eternal, immortal, in- visible, the only wise God, be glory and dominion world without end. Amen." THE FALLEN, GUILTY, AND RUINED STATE OF MAN. " 1 now, my young friend, address you on a sub jcct unspeakably important ; as no hope can b entertained of doing you lasting good, till you feel the truth of the statement just repeated. In ref- erence to bodily disorders it is said, that to know THE FALLEN STATE OF MAN. 11 your disease is half the cure. The same observe lion will apply to the disorders of the soul. If one deeply infected with a fever, or the plague, were so deluded, as to believe himself enjoying perfect health, or to think himself at worst, but slightly disordered, and therefore to neglect the means for restoring health, how soon would death and the grave convince him of his sad mistake ! Such delusion is seldom met with ; but an infi- nitely more dreadful delusion is as common as the light of day. Perhaps you labor under its influ- ence. Perhaps, if your life has been unstained by flagrant enormities, you imagine yourself a good- hearted young man. Your sins are softened down under the name of youthful follies. The deep corruption of your nature is totally hidden from your view. You are in danger of dying eternally of the worst of plagues, and yet think that all is well. You are exposed to the wrath of a justly JFended God, and saying to yourself, ' Peace, peace.' " God forbid that I should represent your state, by nature, as worse than he describes it in his word. " Be patient, then, and hear the worst. What are you? If guided by the opinions of a poor, blind world, you might reply, ' A frail, imperfect creature, guilty of some sins, but yet, with so many good dispositions and good actions to counterbal- ance them, that I may reasonably hope for happi- ness and heaven.' My dear young friend, are these, or such as these, your view of yourself? If they be. no wretched madman, bound with chains, crown- ing himself with straw, and imagining himself a nughty and happy monarch, was ever more de- ceived. I repeat the question, What are youl 12 THE FALLEN STATE OF MAN Let the word of the God of truth reply. And what is its answer ? It teaches you that you are corrupt, and polluted, and at variance with God ; having all the powers of your soul disordered ; and exposed, justly exposed, to everlasting ruin ; and so entirely depraved and undone, that without a change as great as a second birth, you cannot pos- sibly see the kingdom of God. " Perhaps you exclaim, ' Shocking doctrine !' whilst full of indignation, you are almost ready to throw this book aside, before you have looked at the proofs afforded in scripture for these assertions. If this be the case, I beseech you remember I ap- peal to scripture, not to your passions ; to the dec- larations of God, not to worldly delusions. Yoo may cry out at the sight of a shroud, a coffin, a grave, 'Shocking objects!' but your loudest excla- mations will not lessen the awful realities, by which many have happily been shocked into a timely pre- paration for approaching death. " The word of God assures us, that every human being is born into this world with a corrupt ana sinful nature God formed man ' in his own im- age,' innocent and holy ; but fallen man begat a son : in his own likeness,' corrupt and fallen, like himself. The consequence is, man comes into this world with a sinful nature ; for ' who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.' Such is the exceeding sinfulness of human nature, that the word of God strongly describes it, by declaring that we are ' shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin. ' Man is a transgressor from the womb, and goes astray speaking lies.' The devil is elsewhere called the father of lies ; and one of the earliest tokens "of human depravity is, that a disposition to commit that abominable sin so soon appears in little ohil THK FALLEN STATE OF MAN. 13 dren. Man is born untamed and rude as a ' wild ass's colt.' ' Foolishness is bound up even in the heart of a child.' ' The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth,' ' is only -evil continually ;' ' he is abominable and filthy, and drinketh in ini- quity like water.' As he advances in life, do his corruptions weaken ? The words of the apostle answer, No : ' We ourselves, also, were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.' " This sinfulness of our nature, my young friend, is not partial ; it is not confined to some of your powers and faculties ; but, like a mortal poison, spreads through and pollutes the whole. The heart, which should be the best part of man, is now the worst. " The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Such are the windings of its corruption, that no eye but Jehovah's can trace them out. It is full of evil ; not merely tainted but filled with sin ; and "madness dwells in it." The eyes, the ears, the hands, the feet, the lips, are all defiled by different sins ; and the tongue, that member which was formed peculiarly for its Creator's praise, "is now a world of iniquity; and is set on fire of hell." " Man is not only so extremely sinful that he cannot please God, but so blind that he is entirely ignorant of what is accceptable in his Maker's sight. So awful is this blindness, that the 'the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of Hod, for they are foolishness unto him.' Even the 'preach- ing of the cross itself is to them that perish, fool- ish i:ess.' And so wilful, that ' men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil ; and proceeding in their career of madness, ' foola 9 14 THE FALLE1V &I;i.TE OF MAN. make a mock at sin.' Is it possible. 1113 young friend, to give a sadder representation of the nat ural blindness of the heart than these passages give ? Sin, which God declares to be the cause of misery, death, and hell, men treat as a matter of foolish ridicule and mad laughter ; while that glo- rious plan of salvation which so magnifies the wis- dom and love of God that it astonishes the angela of heaven, even this is folly in view of poor un- converted men. The man who should laugh at a thousand swords aimed at his defenceless head, or pointed at his naked breast, were wiser than he who laughs at sin. Less foolish were the wretch who should treat as folly, a plan to deliver him from the condemned cell* the halter, the gibbet, or the fire, than he who thus treats the wondrous plan which God has devised, to save him from the flames of hell. " It is written, the ' carnal mind is enmity against God.' A more awful description of fallen man cvnnot be given, than that contained in these few words. The carnal mind is strictly the earthly and sensual mind ; that which the moral and the profligate alike possess, while loving the world and the things of -the world. The miser, as well as the spendthrift ; the pleasing young man that is fol- lowing earthly objects with all his heart ; the en- gaging young woman whose thoughts are fixed on fashion, dress, and gayety, as much possess the car- nal mind as does the shameless profligate, whose conduct they abhor ; and the sober tradesman, whose plans and schemes all refer to this world, ia as much under its influence as either of the others. All these have a worldly or carnal mind, and what is it? enmity against God, enmity itself. What can be worse than this ? The Scriptures assert pos- THE FALLEN STATE OF MAN. IS ittvely, that this is the condition of all men. 'All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.' This holy book also gives us an affecting account of the danger to which, as a fallen creature, and a sinner, you are exposed. By the God of eternal truth are you assured, that men are ' by nature the children of wrath ;' that l he that believeth not is condemned already :' and that 'judgment has come upon all men to condemnation ;' and that men. as sinners, are in a state of death : that ' the wages of sin is death.' and that ; the soul that sinneth, it shall die.' " And now, my young friend, what are your views of your own state? Do you feel that you are in a lost state, and that the ' wrath of God abid- eth on you?' Do you feel that nothing but the brittle thread of life separates you from that ' in- dignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish,' which Almighty God has most solemnly declared he will inflict upon all the transgressors of his law who die in their sins ; or do you disbelieve all this, and say, ' I shall have peace,' all will be well at last Perhaps you may have been an affectionate child, you may be tender and compassionate, duti- ful and obliging ; but will this save you 1 No, never ; excellent as these qualifications are in their place, if these cpuld have atoned for sin. and saved the soul, the Son of God need not have died. But the fact is, you may possess all these, and yet live in rebellion against God ; and thus, however fair your character may be in the sight of men, in that of God it may be as dark and as vile as the character of Satan himself. You see then that you are in a lost state, and that without a change f heart you cannot be saved. " Shall I be more particular, and specify somt 18 THi FALLEX STATE OF MAW of the sins common to youth ; such as the follow ing ? Pride, disobedience to parents, waste of precious time. Time is given us to prepare foi eternity ; but, alas ! how are its golden hours sin- ned and trifled away ! One of the most common ways, in which time is wasted, is in the employing of it on romances, plays, and novels. If you are a novel reader, think the next time you take a novel into your hands, how shall I answer to my Judge for the time occupied by this ? When he shall say to me, ' I gave you so many years in yonder world, to fit you for eternity. Did you converse with your God in devotion ? did you study his word? did you attend to the duties of life, and strive to improve to some good end your leisure hours ?' Then, then shall I be willing to reply : ' Lord, my time was otherwise employed ! Novels and romances occupied the leisure of my days ; when, alas ! my Bible, my God, and my soul were neglected ?' " Sabbath-breaking, although not confined to youth, is a very common sin among them. A Sabbath-breaker is justly described as one who despises his Maker ; rebels against the King of kings, defies his vengeance, provokes his wrath ; disgraces the Christian name ; tramples on the laws of his country ; ruins hi* own soul ; and poi- sons others by his fatal example. " Taking pleasure in the sins of others, though one of the most awful, is one of the most common of human iniquities ; and abounds among none more than among the young. The lewd and pro- fane, tempt others to lewdness and profaneness. The thoughtless and the gay, persuade others to imitate their levity and their folly. As if it were not sufficient to have their own sins to account for PRAYER FOR A YOUTH N A LOST SPATE. IT many thus make themselves partakers in the sins of otters ; and, as if it were not enough to ruiu their own souls, many thus contract the guilt of assisting to destroy those of their companions and friends. Have you never led others into sin? Perhaps some, who are now lost forever, may be lamenting, in utter darkness and despair, the fatal hour when they became acquainted with you. Have any learned of you to trifle with religion ; to squander away their golden day of grace ; to slight their God ; and choose perdition ? If not by words, yet, perhaps, by a careless and irreligious example, you have taught them these dreadful lessons." A PRAYER FOR A YOUNG PERSON WHO IS SENSIBLE HE IS IN A SINFUL, DANGEROUS, AND LOST STATE. " Lord, my God, thou hast not been in all my thoughts. By my ungodly life, I have said to thee, ' Depart from me, for I desire not the knowl- edge of thy ways ;' and though thy beloved Son, once crucified for my sins, has claimed my heart, I have refused to listen to his call. And yet I have deceived myself; and have deemed myself almost innocent ; have thought my life righteous ; and treated humble piety with contempt arnd scorn. True wisdom I have counted folly, and folly prized for wisdom. Merciful Lord, my lips, my tongue, my eyes, my ears, my hands, my head, have all sinned against thee : but, oh, my heart ! the heart I deemed good, what madness has dwelt there ! There have those corruptions abode, which hell takes pleasure in viewing, but which heaven must mourn to see. There anger has burned. Thera pride has swelled There envy and revenge have 2* 18 THE NATURE OF REAL RELIGION. rankled. There vanity, indolence, discontent, in- gratitude, and all the detestable brood of human vices, have shown their hateful forms. And shall I now plead that I am innocent ? Shall I now de- clare, that my heart is good, and my transgressions tew ? Merciful God, forgive the blindness which deluded me with thoughts like these. No. my injured Father, the smallest sin against thee. is huge as the frowning precipice, dark as the shadow of death, and horrid as the depths of hell ; and the smallest of my crimes have been as much commit- ted against thee, as the more profligate actions of Borne, who never enjoyed the instructions with which I have been favored. I have lived long enough ; alas, too long ! to the world, to Satan, and myself ; now let me live to thee. Now, for Jesus' sake, guide nve from sin to holiness ; from folly to wisdom ; from death to life ; from vain de- light to real jo} r ; and, finally, through the Lamb that was slain, advance me from earth to heaven, there to praise, bless, magnify and adore redeem- ing love, through ages without end. gracioua Lord, hear my requests, for Jesus' sake. Amen." THE NATURE OF TRUE RELIGION BRIEFLY DESCRIBED. " That religion is the chief concern of all, is tLj declaration of the Most High ; and early religion is what he solemnly requires. ' Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth ;' those best days, prepare to meet thy God. While young make him your friend ; seek an enduring mansion in the skies, and thus, to every other source of cheerfulness, add those last and best, your heav- THE NATURE OF REAL RELIGON. 19 enly Father's care, and your gracious Saviour's love. " Most persons will acknowledge the excellency and importance of religion, yet few are its real friends. ' Few there be that find it.' Many are entirely careless of it. Others have the form, without the power. Others play the hypocrite'? Eart ; they ' speak fair words and act foul deeds ', ft their eyes to heaven, and turn their steps te hell.' Youthful reader, while I endeavor to de- scribe to you what religion is, let me beseech you to unite your prayers with mine, that you may in- deed be taught of God. Let me beseech you to attend as seriously to the plain and affectionate truths that may be presented to you, as you would do if lying on a dying bed, and there earnestly in- quiring how salvation may be found. " Religion consists in such a practical knowledge of our own guilt and misery, as leads us to abhor sin and ourselves ; and in such an acquaintance with the blessed God, and the adorable Saviour, as leads us to believe on Jesus for salvation, and resting all our hopes upon his atonement and righteousness, to trust our eternal all to his care, and to yield up ourselves, body, soul, and spirit, to the Father as our Father, to the Son as our Sav- iour, and to the Holy Spirit as our Sanctifier. " The foundation of religion is laid in a knowl- edge of our own guilt and depravity. As sickness teaches the patient to prize the physician's aid, as slavery leads the captive to seek for liberty, and condemnation makes the criminal cry for mercy so the knowledge of our own condemnation and guilt prepares the soul for the reception of Jesus Christ. Are you acquainted with this ? Are you scndib'.e that you have rebelled against a God of 20 THE NATURE OF REAL RELIGION. love? and are you penitent for your tran egression o? You cannot else escape destruction. The Lord hat declared, ' Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.' ' God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.' This repentance consists not in a transient sorrow for sin, but in such a sense of its evil, vileness, and ingratitude, as begets in the sou" abhorrence of it, and an anxious desire for deliv- erance from its power and punishment. If knowl- edge of yourself, and the evil of sin, has humbled you in the dust, and led you from the heart to ex- claim, ' God be merciful to me a sinner !' then, permit me add, that a most essential part of relig- ion is an acquaintance with the Lord Jesus Christ Not a mere speculative knowledge of his excellea cies, like that which even an infernal spirit may possess, but such a practical knowledge of his power and grace, and such a belief in him. as subdues the soul, and leads the penitent sinner to make Jesus his hope, his trust, and his all. " In the case of man, and in your own case, sin has Reserved eternal punishment. The justice of God called for the execution of the sentence of condemnation. But his wisdom devised a plan of mercy for a rebellious world ; and his compassion induced him to adopt the plan. It was, that his be- loved Son should suffer for man, and bear the curse instead of him Thus would sin be punished ; and thus might the sinner be entirely forgiven. Thus did God give to his whole intelligent creation an awful proof that sin, in his dominions, could not escape unpunished. Yet, while- showing his infi- nite hatred of sin, he showed his infinite love foi ruined man, in thus appointing his beloved Son to stand in the sinner's place, and in thus punishing THE 5MTUKE OF REAL RELIGION. 21 in Christ the sins of man, that the penitent sinner might go free. "An acquaintance with this divine Saviour ia absolutely needful for you. He is set forth as the only foundation for the sinner's eternal hopes. ' Beiieve on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.' But, my young friend, permit me af- fectionately to caution you against deceiving youi own soul with the shadow of belief, instead of the substance : for, in one sense, ' the devils believe and tremble.' Believing in Jesus is termed, in Scripture, ' believing with the heart.' There ia the consent of the heart to this plan of salvation ; as well as the persuasion of the mind. If you truly believe on Christ you will receive him as your Lord, your hope, your Saviour, your all. A well-placed trust in Jesus Christ will be found a sure support for hope, and peace, and joy, when all other dependencies sink in eternal ruin, and all other hopes are blasted in black despair. The soul, committed to his care, will be safe through its little stay among the objects of time and sense ; and, what is far more important, will be safe and happy when the graves are giving up their dead, when the world is fleeing from the majesty of its Maker's face, and when creation is perishing ia final flames. " If you. from your heart, receive the Lord Je BUS Christ as your Redeemer, you will also sub- mit to him as your sovereign Lord ; you will love the commandments of God, as just and holy ; you will yield up yourself, body, soul, and spirit, to the Lord Jesus Christ ; that whether you ' live, you may live to the Lord ; or whether you die, you may die to the Lord. 1 While religiou leadi 22 THE IMPORTANCE OF REAL PIETY you to trust the Saviour s Death, it will lea 1 you to copy his life. " Wherever the precious Gospel is embraced, and Jesus followed, a change most truly glorious and divine, will take place. Under its flfeaveuly influ- ence man becomes a ' new creature : old things pass away and all things become new.' Let the passionate come to Jesus ; and mildness, in their breast, will take the place of anger. The covetous will grow liberal ; the proud, become humble. Drunkards, learn sobriety ; and liars love the truth. Thieves become honest. Sabbath-breakers improve the sacred days they wasted once. The prayerless learn to pray, and find their duty and their pleasure united in devotion. The hard- hearted change their natures for compassion. The earthly-minded renounce the things of earth, and seek their treasures in heaven. And they who are addicted to what are commonly esteemed the most incurable vices, under the influence cf true religion, change pollution for purity, wicked- ness for holiness, and the likeness of devils for the likeness of God. "The Lord Jesus Christ places the value and importance of real piety in a most striking light, in the history of Lazarus and the rich man, Luke xvi. 19, &c. Lazarus is described as poor, despised, afflicted, a beggar without an earthlj friend. He has lived in poverty, and at last, una* ble any longer to glean his scanty pittance by wandering from door to door, he is laid at the rich man's gate, worn down with sickness. No kind relation, no benevolent friend cheers him. The crumbs which fall from his wealthy neigh- bor's table are his support. His tattered ragi scarcely '.jover the spreading wounds in his disor- THE IMPORTANCE OF REAL PIETY. 23 and triumphant saints, who passed through the sorrow! of martyrdom to the glories of heaven, just before he expired, lifting up his burning hands from the midst of the flames, exclaimed. ' None but Christ, THE LOVE CF IESUS CHRIST. 27 none but Christ ! But whence sprung this forvent love ? the apostle's words reply, ' ice love him because he first loved us. Spend then a few serious moments in meditating on the love of Jesus Christ, our Lord. " Follow him, in your thoughts, from his throne of glory to his poor manger, and his b$tter cross, and mark the painful steps he trod ; then may you feel that never love was like his love, and never sorrow like his sorrow. " He was the inhabitant of heaven before the world was formed. Eternal glory was his ; all the riches of heaven were his portion : and angels and archangels bowed at his feet. He comes from a world where no sorrows enter, to a world of sorrow and distress. He wept over wretched men whom he saw ruining themselves for this world and the next. And 0. my young friend, if you are unacquainted with his grace, were he upon earth again, he might weep for you. He would see your danger, if you saw it not. He would know the worth of your soul, though you knew it not, and would see, in all its horrors, the precipice whence you are falling, and the state of misery into which you are plunging. What an exchange has he made with wretched man ! He bore our sorrows, that we might share his joys. He took our guilt, that we might par- take of his righteousness ; endured the bitterest ag- ony, that we might escape eternal torments ; died, that w6 might live ; and came from heaven, that we migh* go and dwell forever there. 0, then, re- member, that when he was agonizing in the garden crowned with thorns, torn with scourges, nailed to the cross, and writhing in misery there, that all this was on your account, and not his own. " It is related of Colonel Gardiner, that at tha time of his wonderful conversion, he thought that 28 A PRAYER OF A CONVICTED YOUTH. there was before him a visible representation o* our Lord Jesus Christ ou the cross ; and he wai impressed as if a 'voice had come to him to this ef- fect ; ' sinner, did I suffer this for thee, and are these thy returns V If you, my young friend, have hitherto neglected religion and the Son of God, would he appear, might he not justly say the same/ to you? Is thia your return for all this love '/ And do you think the blessed Jesus endured the less, or loved the less, because he is not here to tell you the greatness of his sufferings and his love ? It cannot be ; "and will you then submit to him ? or will you still harden your heart in ingrat- itude and neglect ? Consider this matter well. I beseech you. Unless .you turn to him, as far as you are concerned, all this will be in vain. As to you, it will be in vain that he came from heaven, and became the poor man of sorrows. As to you, it will be in vain that his hands, his feet, his side were pierced, and that he became the sufferer of the cross, the victim of death. give him your youth. Trust him with your soul. But if you refuse to do this, if you continue to slight his love ; then, young sinner, expect hereafter no gentle flames ; no tolerable damnation : for know, that the deepest and most wretched hell, will not be more wretched than such iniquity will deserve." A PKAYER OF A CONVICTED YOUTH. " O thou compassionate Saviour, what praisea, what gratitude, I owe to thee ! Why didst thoq Btoop beneath the grave, to save a sinking world ! Why pass by sinful angels, to visit sinful men ! Why raise man to the heaven he never enjoyed, Ddid not restore them to the heaven they lost! 5AR Y P1ETT ILLUSTHATED. 29 Why sink KO low to raise us so high ! Why suffer for such a worm as I ! Eve.n so, Lord, for so il seemed good in thy sight. Blessed Jesus, thy dt vine goodness undertook, thy power performed, this miracle of miracles. No merit didst thou sea in man. None wilt thou ever see. Never cau we repay the debt of gratitude. Never love thee half enough. my injured God ! my forgotten Saviour ! my neglected soul ! Had I ten thousand hearts, thy love demands them all ; yet much of my life has passed, and angels and men have seen me denying thee this one poor unworthy heart. gracious Saviour ! divine sacrifice ! thou didst bleed for me ; didst come to wash away my stains ; to seek and save me who was lost. Let me live to thee ; and in my life adorn thy Gospel and glorify thy name. Let me die to thee ; and die with an assurance that I am thine ; die, saying in my last hour. Beloved Saviour, through thy merits and thy death, a poor polluted worm, deserving hell, as- cends to heaven. Amen." " Let me relate to you a little historj, illustra- tive of the blessings of early piety. " Some years since, in a village in Derbyshire, England, there lived a young and thoughtless girl : her name was Mary. Like most around her, she knew not God. Her days were chiefly spent in a cotton mill ; and if a holiday came, it was an op- portunity for vanity and sinful pleasure. Soon after she had completed her thirteenth year, the season for a wake at a neighboring village arrived ; and she proposed to attend that season of dissipa- tion and folly. A young woman, who had herself chosen the better part, persuaded Mary to accom- pany her to hear a sermon. She went. The plaoa 3* 30 BAKLY PIETY ILLUSTRATED. of preaching was the cottage of a humble, aged Christian, one of the Lord's poor. The preacher's subject was. The carnal miwl is enmity against, God. Mary "listened ; the Lord opened her heart ; she felt the power of divine truth, in a way that she never had done before ; and left the house with feelings very different from those which she had on her entrance. She had done with the wake. She felt herself deeply sinful and corrupt . her mind was harrowed up with distress ; and eternal salvation became the object of her desires. Now farewell to her former vanities and follies : she forsook them forever : and from that evening began to live anew. She sought, and at length found peace in believing ; and in her seventeenth year was solemnly admitted into the church of Christ. In this sacred connection she adorned religion by consistent conduct ; she prized her re- ligious privileges ; was affectionately attached to her minister ; and secured the esteem and regard of her Christian friends. A few months after her admission irrto the church of Christ, the symptoms of a consumption appeared, and God quickly called aer to himself. In the days of langu-shing and weakness, the Lord was her support She said that she found his promises sweeter and sweeter ; that there are comforts and delights in his word, which none know but those who enjoy them ; and that she never enjoyed so many blessings as dur- ing the time of her affliction. Death had lost his threatening sting. ' I am not.' she said. ; afraid in the least of dying any time.' At different times she expressed her hope and peace ; or called on the friends that surrounded her dying bed. to praise her God. At length she calmly entered into rest, before she had spent eighteen years on earth. 1 EARLY PIETY ILLUSTRATED. 31 Sec, my young friend, how much the grace of God may do for them who embrace religion iu early life, even in a little time. On her thirteenth birth- day, Mary was a thoughtless girl ; and ere her eighteenth could arrive was a saint in light. With- in the intervening space of something more than four short years, she was enabled to forsake the world, to iiud a Saviour, to profess the Gospel, to honor that profession, to languish calmly through months of sickness, to conquer death, and doubt- less land in heaven. How blessed was early piety to her ! She might, when first awakened, have said, ' I am not yet fourteen ; surely hereafter will be soon enough for me ;' and had she reasoned thus, and had she put off, though but for a few years, her inquiry for salvation, God, it seems, by her early death, would have put it off forever. De- lay not, then, to accept that blessing which is the source of every other. Your life is uncertain as was hers. If you, youthful reader, are a lover of this world, what will you have left soon ? But if pos- sessed of religion, you may say, ' Not thus fleeting are my treasures.' ' Thou, art my portion, O Lord ; others have palaces, and crowns, or wealth, gayety, and pleasure. This is their portion ; but thou, the God of heaven and earth, art mine, and mine for- ever. When the miser shall have lost his wealth^ and crowns have fallen from the heads that wear them ; when the man of this world shall have left the world he idolized, and all their delights shall have forsaken the young, the pleasure-taking, and the gay. thou wilt still be mine : thou wilt be my support, when rocks crumble into dust, and mountains tremble to their base, and when the Bun shall shine no more, and when the earth itself hall have vanished like a falling star, that blaze* 82 ADVANTAGES OF EARLY ?IETY. and expires thou wilt be mine still, my God ana my portion forever.' 1 " And now were it possible to call from the dead some that have died in youth, what a confirms tion would they give, to all that has been urged upon you here ! - They who have followed Jesus while young, might say to you. ' Follow him we fol- lowed. Early as we began religion, we began much too late, and could we have felt grief in heaven, we should have grieved that we did not sooner know, and love, and serve the Lord. Death cut us down in the morning of our days ; yet we did not die too soon, for we had bowed betimes at the feet of Jesus, and had found eternal life in him. lie washed our sins away, he renewed our hearts, and prepared heaven for us, and us for heaven. He taught us to set our affections on things above. We smiled in death : and now we rest from all our labors. Heaven is a long, long, happy home. Follow our Lord, and he will be your Lord. Re- ceive him, and he will receive you. Commit your souls to him, and all will be well with you, for time and for eternity.' " MEDITATIONS ON THE ADVANTAGES OF EARLY PIETY CONCLUDED WITH PRAYER. " Come. my soul, and in serious meditation again review these pleasing motives for yielding thyself, thy all, to God.' I am passing through thia world like an eagle through the air. I am young; but youth and health have vanished from millions, and will soon vanish from me. Could I now gain a throne, and become a ruler of a mighty kingdom, yet in a little while a throne, a kingdoms will be of ADVANTAGES OF EARLY PIETY. 38 Jttle importance to me : but I hear of things that will concern me forever, of blessings that may en- rich me forever. I hear of treasures of eternal worth ; treasures like those which angels enjoy, and which make angels happy. Thrones and kingdoms upon earth never will be mine, even for an hour ; but these far better riches may be mine through an eternal day. When Jesus invites me to go to him, and take his yoke, he invites me to make all this my own. And canst thou hesitata, my soul, or canst thou delay '? Shall I refuse so kind an invitation 1 Shall I lose all these eternal treas- ures, for the things of a moment, that perish iu the using ? 0, let me not act so base, so foolish BO unprofitable a part ! I see, indeed, that godli- ness is profitable for all things, and would be iufi nitely profitable to me. Without it, I had better never had been born. Without it, I must be a mere cumberer of the ground. Then my very be- ing would be a curse to myself; and I should be a curse to my friends, and a curse to the world ; but with it, in my humble sphere, I should be enabled to glorify my God ; I should live to my blessed Re- deemer, and might die leaning, as it were, my lan- guishing head for support upon his Almighty arm. " Great, and ever blessed God, from revolving these things in my mind, to thee would I turn. O, let them not be lost upon me ; let these pre- cious blessings all be mine. Deny me other treas- ures, if thou wilt, but give me these. Let me win Christ, 1 and know him as mine, and know all the blessings which flow from his love, either on earth, or in heaven, as also mine. Give me the comfort of hope, the assurance ef faith, and the heaven of love, which is the forerunner of thfl earnest of an eternal heaven, within me, and around 34 THE CONCLUSION Oh A RELIG .O'JS LIFE, oae, when time shall be no more. Let me not, by delay, make repentance more bitter, and conversion more difficult ; but may 1 feel true humility and sorrow for having wasted, and worse than wasted, sc much of my life ; and again let me entreat thee t give me grace, gladly to yield the rest to thee. Or if, compassionate Blither, thou seest that I have been led to this happy choice, then confirm me in it, and never let sin or the world-divide the bands which bind my soul to thee ; but may I be blessed in Jesus, and humbly and faithfully cleave to him. Grant me but these blessings, and then make what- ever pleases thee welcome to me. Let affliction? be welcome, as the chastisement of thy hand, and pain, as sent to meeten me for the rest where there shall be no more pain. If thou a.rt pleased to pro- long my days, let life be welcome, for the sake of living to my Lord. But if thou hast determined otherwise respecting me, if a few weeks or months are to finish rny pilgrimage below, let even early death be welcome, as a speedier removal to eternal lift ; and let those years which are taken from my mortal course, be added to that eternal day, to which thou hast promised to conduct all the hum- ble followers of thy Son. Great God, thou seest nothing in me to add weight to these requests , and never wilt thou see such worthiness in a crea- ture so unworthy ; but grant them for his sake whose blood was shed to wash away my sins. Amen." THE HAPPY CONCLUSION OF A RELIGIOUS LIFE, A MOTIVE FOR EARLY PIETY. "0, my young friend, let me tell you seriously that you must die. and unless you obtain the con A MOTIVE FOR EARLY PIETY. b& eolations of religion, must know their importance when too late. 0, happy, happy they who die in the Lord. Let the vain world keep its possessions 1 Let the fashionable and the gay enjoy their short- lived gayety. and quickly ending pleasure ! Let the wealthy exult in their stores, and the noble in their honors! these are not the happy. The bol- emn death-bed, where the humble, faithful disci}.le of Jesus has lain, has often afforded a happier spec- tacle than the most happy ever beheld in scenes of worldly revelry and pleasure. " Perhaps you look on death as dreadful ; but many as young as you have met it without a fear ; arid without a wish to stay long here, have passed through that important hour to life, to happiness, to Jesus, heaven, and God. In 1808, died H S. Colding, in the 24th year of his age. When he felt the approach of death, he is stated to have ut- tered these rapturous expressions : ' I find now it is no delusion ! My hopes are well founded ! Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it en- tered into the heart of man to conceive the glory 1 shall shortly partake of ! Read your Bible ! I shall read mine no more no more need it!' When his brother said to him. ' You seem to enjoy fore- tastes of heaven :' ' 0.' replied he, ' this is no lon- ger foretaste this is heaven ! I not only feel the climate, but breathe the air of heaven, and shall soon enjoy tbe company ! Can this be dying? This body seems no longrr to belong to the soul ! it ap- pears only as a curtain that covers it ; and soon I shall drop the curtain, and be set at liberty !' Then, putting his hand to his breast, he exclaimed, ' I rejoice to feel these bones give way, as it tells mi I shall be with my God in glory.' Jtt) THE CONCLUSION OF A RET IGIOUS LIFE. " The last words that he was heard to uttor wcw 'Glory, glory, glory.'" In July, 1827, died, at an early ago, a young iisciple of the Saviour, related to the eminent mis- pionary, Mr. Ward. Her name was Jane. When about fifteen, she embraced religion, and sought peace in a Saviour's love, encouraged by the gra- cious promise. " Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." " Some expressions written by that mouldering hand may teach the young the worth of early piety. ' I am in perfect health, but not knowing how soon death may come. I am hastening to the grave, but not with sorrow ; for I know in whom I hav believed, that he is able to keep what I have com mitted unto him. I must soon part with all below and with my dear minister, but not forever ; for I hope we shall soon meet in Christ, and part no more.' " Her last illness was long and painful. Many hours of severe distress did she pass in her sick chamber, on her bed of death, but all was peace within. Often did she express her confidence in her Saviour, which at times rose to the full assu- rance of faith. ' My mind is very happy in a very happy frame, and a thankful frame. I have no exultation, but I know that if all the world were lost. I should be saved.' She anticipated, with comfort, an entrance in her heavenly Father's home. With all this gladdening confidence was manifest- ed deep humility : I am,' she said, ' an unworthy sinner, and have done nothing for my salvation. 1 In her last hours, when the power of speech wan almost gone, she faintly whispered, ' Happy,' and seemed in prayer to say, ' Come, my dear Saviour.' Shall you die thus? Can you die thus, unloss JOB A MOTIVE FOR EARLY ?IETY. 37 ek the Siviour as yours, and yield, like Jane, your youth to him ? " Youthful reader, you too must die ; yet if pos- sessed of a humble assurance that Jesus is yout Saviour, you may die in peace. ! when this scene of vanity is ending ; when all your ornaments must ,be exchanged for a shroud, and all the amusements of youth, or the cares of riper years, for the solem- nities of the eternal world, then, indeed, will early piety appear a blessing past expression. If you are a Christian, you too may be able to say at th closing scene of life, 'Farewell folly, sin, and vau- ity ! Farewell all that I once knew ! I go where perfection and purit} r , happiness and endless life, shall be my long, long portion. I go from mortal to immortal things ; from dying men to the living God. Adieu! forever, departing world, adieu! But 0, welcome, ye blessed spirits, that come to convey me to my God ! Welcome ye blissful scene* &f peace, and love, and joy, and praise ! Welcome heaven ! Welcome everlasting life ! PROV. VIII. 17. I. " YE hearts, with youthful vigor warm, In smiling crowds draw near, And turn from every mortal charm, A Saviour's voice to hear, 4. " He, Lord of all the worlds on high, Stoojis to converse with you ; And luys his radiant glories by, Your friendship to pursue. I " The soul that longs to see my focc, Is sure my love to g^in ; And those that early seek my giaoi. Shall never seek in vain. 4 AN INFIDEL CONVKKT.MI. 4. " What objjct, Lord, my soul should inoa If one; compared with theel What beauty should command my ioTt, Like what in Christ I see 1 k. ' \way ye false, delusive toys, Vain tempters of the mind! Tis here 1 fix my lasting choice, And here true bliss I find. A SEA INFIDEL CONVERTED. " THE following interesting letter was addressed to the Rev. Gr. C. Smith, of London, by a sailor who had been an inmate of the New Sailor's Asy- lum, opened under Mr. Smith's auspices." " REVEREND SIR. I humbly beg that you will pardon the liberty I take in thus addressing you; I am convinced that you will, when you learn th subject and circumstances which induce me to ad dress you. The subject is one in which you ar deeply interested the regeneration of the human soul ; and the circumstances are, the conversion of a man who has been a long time estranged from his God ; ' a dweller in the tents of sin ;' familiar with, and addicted to vice and depravity ; and most grievous of all, who had abjured and denied hia God and Saviour ; who has poured forth from hia mouth, as from the crater of hell, torrents of blas- phemy ; and embraced and eagerly sought every opportunity of turning the Holy Scriptures, and the religion of Christ, into ridicule and contempt. " Such has been the man, sir, who now addresser fou ; such were the practices I persevered and glo- AN INFIDEL CON ." ricd in for upwards of twenty years. Now it baa pleased the omniscient and all-merciful God, to awaken me to a sense of my guilt : to cast from my eyes the film of delusion j and to turn away the clouds of darkness which have caused me to grope blindly along through the valley of destruc- tion and death ; a measure of divine grace has been imparted ; a change I have experienced : a happy, I trust in God, an effectual change. Ah me I wheu I look back on my past wicked life, the review ia dreadful ; rny soul recedes and shudders at the aw- ful remembrance. I have been standing on the brink of a precipice, ready in a moment to fall headlong below, into the dark and unfathomable abyss, where my destruction must have been inev- itable and eternal. " On my first obtaining, through the favor and. grace of God. a view and a sense of my lost condi- tion ; my sins, my blasphemies, and my impieties, sprang up like torturing fiends around me. My soul was agomzed and frantic ; I considered my- elf as deservedly and eternally lost. I gave my- self up to dark despair. I wished. panlon me, sir, the expression of the dreaded idea, I wished my- telf annihilated ; I wished I could regain the opin- ions I had so lately held ; but ever thankful shall I be to divine mercy, I could not ; I assayed again and again, but they had fled from a more heavenly presence. The good and evil spirits were at war within ine ; the light of divine truth prevailed ; and the Satanic ties were burst which so long had bound me. "4 repaired to the Scriptures for spiritual com fort: the Holy Scriptures, that volume of truth which I had so long despised, that volume which I had lately thrown from me with detestation, I 40 AN INFIDEL CON fERTED. now pressed close to my bosom ; I opened its page* and read that Christ died as an atonement for sin- ners, for the chief of sinners. ' Though their sina are as red as scarlet, they shall be made white as wool ;' he invites all to come to him, ' to knock, and it shall be opened ;' ' to seek, and they shall find ;' to 'believe in him and they shall be saved. 1 " I am now calm ; I believe that I can yet hope for pardon through the intercession of our blessed Saviour. ' There is joy over one sinner that re- penteth, more than over ninety and nine just per- sons that have not sinned, and need not repent- ance.' I will seek the divine presence with hope, yet with 'fear and trembling.' I will not sink in the gjoom and darkness of despair, nor will I be vainly elated with too presumptive hopes of salva tion. Sincere contrition for past sins and iniqni ties ; a firm belief in the sacred truths of divine revelation ; prayer and supplication, humbly of- fered up through the mediation of Jesus Christ the Redee-mer ; these, I conceive, sir, are the sac- rifices I should offer up to the offended Majesty of heaven ; these can alone be my plea, when ar- raigned at the bar of that awful tribunal, before that all-powerful Judge. ' to whom the heart of man is known, and his most secret thoughts.' " To you, sir, and your brother ministers, I owe a debt of eternal gratitude. You have been the means through which God has been pleased to work iny deliverance from the state of spiritual death, from the horrid, all-dair.ning principles I had so long embraced; it was to your preaching, and the Spirit of grace working internally my conviction, that I owe the present happiness of my soul. Lately. I had esteemed myself as one of the bru- tal creation, as a beast of the field ; beyond thii AN INFIDEL CONVERTED. 41 arth I had no hopes or fears ; beyond the law and usages of society, I knew of no inducement to seek virtue, or to deter from crime ; no inward monitor ; no appeal of conscience. Could I con- form to the laws of mankind, I thought I was guiltless- and unpuuishable for any action, how- ever base. This, in my opinion, sir, merely as a point of human reasoning, shows the necessity of divine revelation ; I am convinced that a commu- nity of infidels could not exist as a state of society. " When we lose sight of divine revelation and a superintending Providence, we have no guide but nature and the impulse of our blind passions : we are lost : we may be compared to the mariner in a ship, on an unknown sea ; tempest-driven, no chart, no compass to direct his course, and conduct his helm. " I will endeavor, sir. as briefly as possible, to give you a sketch of my life during the last twenty years. The record of sin is a gloomy subject ; but is yet interesting ; much so to me, as a beacon to warn me in my future course, or as a torturing, but inseparable friend, to goad and drive me for- ward to the goal of expiation. " My parents were sober and pious people ; they brought me up in a strict attention to religioua principles, and frequent reading of the Holy Scrip- tures. Ah ! had I never forsook the path they inculcated. I had been happy ; but Satan is per- mitted to prowl the earth, seeking whom he may devour, and I became his victim. " About the age of fifteen, some of the writings of Hume and Voltaire fell into my hands ; a fatal bias by these was given to my mind. From these I inhaled the pestilential blasts of infidelity. I ought with avidity for sceptical writings j I ran 4i AN INFIDEL CONVERTED. i through a host of these baneful authors *nd tki^ completed my ruin. " The steps of evil are progressive. I did not for some time avow my change of principles ; I was ashamed, I was even affrighted of them. I was most careful, in particular, to conceal them from my parents. 0, jrir, it is still a consolation to my mind that I did so ; it would have sent their gray hairs with sorrow to (lie grave. They knew it not while in this mortal vale : they would have been frantic could they have imagined that their son had denied his (\>\. u The principles I had adopted at this time were deism, as such, I believe, it is commonly un- derstood : a helief in a (Jod. or first cause, hut dis- belief in divine revelation, and the immortality of the soul. But I stopped not long here ; 1 em- braced materialism. The transition is easy, and I became an ath- " Whatever difference the names of d/iM and athrist may seem to imply, they are radically the same ; atheism is the goal to which all infidelity tends. When we inject revelation and divine providence, where is our (lod/ When we deny spiritual existence, who is 1 "I embraced a sea-faring life, and have followed it for upwards of twenty years. Ah ! during this time thfe evil 1 have been the author of. in poison- ing the minds of my shipmates, is incalculable. I have Leen. sir. a firebnmd, an incendiary, a demon. I have argued with those that would rrgi'r svith me, against the truth of Christianity, and where argument failed me in carrying my point. 1 re- sorted to satire and ridicule. Alas! I fear i have too far succeeded : that on the awful day we Biutst ail sec, Home unhappy souls will denounce Alf 1XFIDEL CONVERTED. 43 me as the author of their eternal ruin ; but God in Christ is merciful, and knows the weakness of the human heart of man. To him I look for par- don. Yet during this period of mental blindness and infatuation, which had swept me away, a spark of divine truth, which had been early planted in my bosom, lay there suppressed and smothered, but could not be extinguished. It often called me to account for the sinful course I was pursuing, but I hastened and always succeeded in crushing its expanding influence. I would thus say to myself. ; Psha ! those phantasies are only the prejudices of education, working on a feeble mind. I will con- jure them away ; I will philosophize them from me. It is like the man who in his youth has list- ened to tale* of ghosts and spectres ; his better sense tells him of the non-existence of such phan- but in certain situations he cannot divest himself of fear. 1 By such sophisms as the- I endeavored to stifle the groans of a suffering con- science within me. ':ice on a similar occasion, I recollect having thus addressed myself: ; Why should I be tor- mented thus by unaccountable fears, doubts, and waverings? Elijah is represented as having said to bis countrymen. ' Men of Israel, how long halt ye between two opinions ? If the Lori be God, fol- low him." I will similarly say to himself. Victim of incertitude! how long will I dwell between two opinions? If the Scriptures are truth, follow them : and if there is no law but that of nature, follow it. 1 D spite of every inward remonstrance and olemn warning, in spite of dangers and disasters by shipwreck and by fire, in spite of the howl ol 44 AH INFIDEL CONVERTED. the midnight tempest, and the roar of battle, an infatuated victim of sceptical delusion, 1 remained a confirmed and hardened sinner. Satis u was yet permitted to hold dominion over my callous heart. " I never attended divine worship, and by ex- ample or by derision endeavored to deter others. I compared it in my mind to a serpent which I well knew possessed a sting which might wound me. If worship was held on board. I always contrived to avoid it ; if on shore, I never visited a church but to scoff, and to catch some topic or expression of the preacher, which I might turn to ridicule. " I was once of the crew of the Lady Carrington, in a voyage to the East Indies. I and some of my associates engaged in the formation of a weekly paper, which was styled ' The Carrington Nautio Chronicle.' It was generally produced on a Sun- day, and affixed ou sonic conspicous part of the gun-deck, for the inspection of the crew. Such a plan as this, sir, if properly conducted on moral and religious principles, might prove of great ben- efit in the instruction of seamen, in long voyages ; but in this instance, when you consider, sir, that my associates were men of my own caste, you will perceive that ours must have been of pernicious in- fluence. Truly it was so ; demoralizing and irre- ligious, and our subjects were obscene, profane, and blasphemous. I have in several vessels since pursued the same unhallowed course. " I will now, sir. draw my narrative to a close. I have latterly, for some years, sailed mostly in 4 oreign vessels. Returning to this country, like many of my improvident brothers, my dissolute courses soon brought me to a state of distress. Forced to seek shelter. I sought and obtained it In the Asylum, and what I considered as the great iN NF1DEL COJv VERTED. 49 eat calamity that had befallen me, has proved, un- der the blessing of God, the happiest circumstance of my life. It is here that I have been brought to a just sense of my long-lost condition ; it is here, sir. that my ears have been first arrested to listen to the joyful tidings of salvation ; that my eyes have been first riveted to the ' sacred page, and that my heart has first opened to receive the im- pression of a solemn warning to ' flee from the wrath to come.' I humbly beg, sir, if I am not too presumptive, that you will write to me on the subject of this letter, such advice and instruction as you may deem necessary. If I have advanced any thing, sir, wrong in principle or in diction, I hope you will ascribe it to its true source to ig- norance or mistake ; surely it cannot be otherwise. With sincere feelings of gratitude and respect, I ain, your most obedient and humble servant. GK" "P. S. It maybe necessary to state that.you now have my true name. In consequence of the- dissolute and unprincipled course of life I had hitherto led, I have seldom passed by my proper name ; that under which I entered the Asylum is a false on. To explain what you have -alreauy received, you should know that when I belonged to the Inconstant frigate, on the coast of Africa, I conducted a paper there on the plan of that men- tioned above in the Carrington." Sailor's Mag, THE CROSS IS MY ANCHOR. THE CROSS is MY ANCHOR, though wave follow wate, Though frail be my vessel, this anchor shall save, Let faitfrin full confidence trust in the Lord ; Midst dangers I rest on his life-giving word. 46 AN INFIDEL CONVERTED. " THE CROSS is MY ANCHOR, 'tis steady and sure, Within the vail holding all storms I endure ; My Jesus has entered a priest on His throne, I trust in His promise, and in Him alone. " THE CROSS is MY ANCHOR, All storms shall soon ceaM, And my vessel, though frail, reach the haven of peace: No shipwreck or storm need I ever more fear, When danger's extreme, then my Saviour is near. 11 THE CROSS is MY ANCHOR, I now hear His voice, ' It is Ij' then I fear not, but trust and rejoice ; "'he last storm with its low'ring, may speedily come, I'll trust in His cross, and shall soon reach my home. THE CROSS IS MY ANCHOR" Lines Addressed to the Author of the Above. " IF THE CROSS BE THY ANCHOR, thy pilot must be The Saviour that walked on the fathomless sea ; That reproved and controlled the proud waves at His will And spoke ' Peace' to the tempest, and bade it ' be still.' * IF THE CROSS BF. THY ANCHOR, no harm can be hurled On thy head when the whirlwind is vexing the world ; Innoxious the flush shall disfigure the sky, And the red bolt of ruin pass harmlessly b/. " IF THE CROSS BE THY ANCHOR, by sceptic abhorred, And thy cable the ne'er-failing word of the Lord, Thy voyage is safe and thy haven secure, And for time and eternity thou shall endure. * IF THE CROSS BE THY ANCHOR, then blest be thy lot, For the crash of creation shall injure thee not; With the trump that shall wake the wide world with alann^ Thy Saviour will hastei thee home to his aims. Sailor's Magazine. 0. M. THE SEAMEN S CAUSS. 47 THE SEAMEN'S CAUSE. Extract from a speech at one of the English Anniversaries. " HE looked back to the time when efforts were first made in behalf of seamen, and he thought the fathers and mothers of sailors were like the prophet upon Mount Carrnel ; they had fallen upon their faces and had wrestled with God in prayer. Many a father, like the Key. A. Fuller, whose son Robert was perishing amidst sin and wretchedness, found a very heaven ; and many a parent, like the Rev. Leigh Richmond, whose beloved son had gone to sea, and had caused many an aching heart to his pious family, had implored the blessing of God upon sailors ; and the Christians of the present day had seen the result of it, when the cloud arose out of the midst of the sea. He thought such characters would say. ' Go. look toward the sea.' If they were asked why they directed their attention to the sea, they would reply, because they had a prodigal son, over whom their bowels yearned. Christians of the present day had seen the cloud arise ; they hailed it in London, and, like the message of the prophet sent to Ahab, they said, ' Haste, thou. and go down, for there is a sound of abundance of rain.' The cloud was like a man's hand, but the faith of the prophet realized it, and he knew that it was the precursor of greater blessings. His servant ran before the chariot, and cried, ' Rain, rain, rain.' Twelve years ago the cloud was seen rising, and there was the sound of abundance of rain ; but if Christians supposed they had only to embark the ressel, and that they should always have a fair wind and a full tide in the sailor's cause, they would <8 A SEA CAPTAIN'S PRAYER. be mistaken. Many rocks and shoals had been met with, but they were perfectly natural. They had, however, only given a new turn to the thoughts and a fresh direction to the exertions of the friends of seamen. They had run on board a rock, and were backing the vessel off, but it was not their in- tention always to run astern ; on the contrary, they meant to leave the rocks to the larboard, and then go on again. (Cheers.) The cause was still the same, and it could not be altered. It was the cause of truth, righteousness and peace ; the cause of God against the empire of Satan ; and it was their duty t6 promote it, notwithstanding all their enemies. Satan had seen the Gospel carried to the villages of his country ; he had witnessed its dis- semination in heathen lands ; but when he saw it promulgated among seamen, he felt that it was a death-blow to his empire." THE PIOUS CAPTAIN'S PRAYER AND REFLECTIONS WHILE AT SEA. O L/ord, I acknowledge that I am less than the least of thy mercies. I have forfeited every right to thy compassion ; I have strayed from thee like a lost sheep ; I confess that my sins have provoked thee to withdraw from me thy wonted favor. Thou, God, hast justly hedged up my way, and made my paths crooked. Yet I thank thee, thou God of mercy, that a ray of hope is still afforded nw under the darkness of my mind, and the hidings of thy face. I thank thee that I am permitted to indulge the consoling reflection that, there is for A SEA CAPTAIN'S PRAYER. 49 givenesa with thee, that thou mayest be feared. I pray. Lord, that the necessities of my case may plead for my importunity, and that thou wouldst verify thy promises of faithfulness and truth, where- in thou hast caused me to hope, and carry on thy begun goodness to me, Lord, until I can say, with thy servant of old, " Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee " Will the Lord hear my prayer, and attend unto my cry, for his own holy name's sake ; and to the only wise God, Father, Son, and Spirit, I would render everlasting praises. Amen. " I am sensible that my case, as it respects my spiritual condition, calls for extraordinary thought- fulness and solemnity ; and as a remedy has been provided for such helpless sinners, I apply to that remedy with all that solicitude and diligence which my peculiar situation requires. In looking over my journal, I find that, about eleven years since. I was much oppressed with doubts and fears, and that after laboring under these difficulties of mind for some time, I resolved to seek unto God, by fast- ing and prayer, for relief. The Lord was gracious to me, and delivered me from all my fears and ap- prehensions. Am I not, then, encouraged to look to him, in the same way, for the removal of my present distresses, and that he would once more set my soul at liberty from the bondage of sin and death, and cause me to rejoice in his salvation ? But it is not my past experience only that I feel encouraged to hope and wait on the Lord, by re- newed importunity, for a favorable change ; but by the solemn exhortations and promises of the Lord himself. For he says, in the second chapter of Joel, ' Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, 5 50 A SEA cAny.m's PRAYER. and with weeping, and with mourning ; and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God ; for he is gracious and merci- ful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and re- penteth him of the evil.' Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and lea^e a blessing behind Lim. And again, in the sixth chapter of Matthew, our Saviour teaches, not only how to fast accepta- bly, but promises important blessings in answer to the performance of this duty. Hoping in the mercy and faithfulness of God, I am resolved, by the as- sistance of his grace, to seek unto him more ear- nestly and fervently, until h be pleased to appoint unto me beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourn- ing, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness ; and 0, may I experience all this mer- cy for his name's sake." Sailor's Magazine, THE COMPASS. " THE storm was loud before the blast Our gallant bark was driven ; Their foaming crests the billows reared, And not one friendly star appeared Through all the vault of heaven. " Yet dauntless still the steersman stood, And gazed without a sigh, Where, poised on needle bright and slim, And lighted by a lantern Jim, The compass meets his eye. " Thence taught his darksome course to steer. He breathed no wish for day ; But braved the whirlwind's headlong might, Nor once throughout that dismal night, To fear or doubt gare way. 4nd what is oft the Christian's life, But storms *-s dark, and drear, WORSHIP AT SEA. Through which, without one blithesome ray Of worldly bliss to cheer his way, He must his vessel steer! " Yet let him ne'er to sorrow yield, For in the sacred page A compass shines divinely true, And self-illumined, greets his view Amid the tempest's rage. u Then firmly let him grasp the helm, Though loud the billows roar, And soon his toils and troubles past, His anchor he shall safely cast On Canaan's happy shore." Sailor's Magazine. WORSHIP AT SEA. TV following Discourse was given by the shipmaster to At! ship's company while OTI, the voyage. So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him. What meanest thon, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God, If so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. JONAH i. 6. " Once more we are permitted to assemble to- gether to worship God, and I hope we may lose nothing by devoting a small part of this day to the public worship of Jehovah. I am sure we should be gainers if we gave a part of every day to his service. But in order that we may fix our minds on this subject more steadily, I have chosen a text of that Scripture which was given by the inspiration of God, and is profitable to us accord- ing to the use we make of it. The prophet Jo- nah, as -we read, was sent to preach to the great city of Nineveh : but fearing man more than God, he was determined not to go. He went down t 62 WORSHIP AT SEA. Joppa and found a vessel going to Tarshish, and paid his passage and went to sea in her. Now the Lord sometimes permits men to go certain lengths in sin, to try them. But they must come to judgment some time or other, either in this world, or the world to come ; and happy are they who like Jonah, return before it is for ever too late, and judge themselves, and acknowledge they have sinned. " In the text before us we have an instance of faith, even in heathen men, which ought to put many, even professing Christians, to the blush. Hear the shipmaster exclaiming. ' What meanest thou, O sleeper 1 Arise, call upon thy God !' Let us take a lesson from this heathen, my friends. " And in the first place, let us consider whether we do not need the assistance of God as much aa these men. They were idolaters, it is true, and went each man to his own god, and cried to him. But they found that their dumb god's did not still the tempest. They were sailors, and perhaps as like us in their dispositions, in their manners, in their evil habits, and in all things except their dress, as we can well imagine. They were sensi- ble that there was an overruling power, and be- lieved that if they wanted to be saved, they must ask. In this, they rather differed from many in these times. There are, strange as it, may appear, in these times, men who say that if they are to be saved, they shall be saved, whether they accept or refuse the invitation that God daily makes to them. Eut these seamen, of which our texs speaks, certainly went before us in candor ; and after finding it availed them nothing to cry to their gods, they went to Jonah ; who, we read, was asleep in the side of the ship, as unconcerned WORSHIP AT SEA. 5i a? if he had been doing tc the utmost the will of " They did not say, we had rather perish thaa be saved by the God of Jonah ; as I fear too many in these days do, at least in their actions. But they even admonished him for his irreligion, and begged of him to arise and call upon his God. It was a custom with these people at that time, when a person was suspected of any crime, and it could not be determined who that person was, to draw lots. As the Scripture says, ' The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposal thereof is of the Lord.' Accordingly they drew lots, and it fell to Jonah. They immediately inquired who, and what he was, and why they were visited with this dispensation of Providence. Jonah very ingenu- ously confesses the whole. Then they inquire what they shall do to him in order to appease the anger of God. He tells them to throw him over- board. How dreadfully he must have felt, when death was desirable, rather than the wrath of an an- gry God ! But mark the result. The heathen, who had never known the one only and true God be- fore, now see, and acknowledge his power to rule the winds and the waves. They accordingly, when they get ashore again, oiFer sacrifices, and make vows to God. Jonah we should suppose would never be heard from again. But Jonah saw that he had done wrong, and confessed his *ns to God, and prayed to be delivered, and God heard him. and delivered him even from the jaws of death. Now, as sea- men, do we not need the assistance of God. as much as these men '? Can we say we are not idol- aters as well as they 1 Perhaps we do not boW 64 WORSHIP AT SEA. down to graven images. But do we net kwe any thing better than God ? " Who among us defies himself of one worldly lust for the sake of God ? Who does not worship one or the other of the gods of this world ? Then take a lesson from these hea^ hen n. Ariners, that in the day of God's wrath, these gods cannot save you. You may cry unto the god of mst, the god of avarice, or the god of ambition and which of them can save you in the hour of death 1 We know that there is but one only living and true God. And we know that this God is a holy God, and that we must be holy in order to please him. And when we come to leave this world none of us will regret having lived too near to God. " It is appointed unto man once to die, and af- ter death the judgment. Are we to escape death ? Although we have passed through so many dan- gers, yet we need not presume from that, that death will never come. Perhaps, after escaping many a storm at sea, and many a shipwreck, and having weathered out many a sickly climate, yet in such an hour as we think not, the Son of Man cometh. We may be in a snug harbor at home, and feel ourselves safe, yet the time is coming when we little think ; and then, where shall we go? Is not the same God who rules the wiuda and the waves, able to save or destroy ? Has he not the same power now that he had in Jonah 4 day ? Alas ! it is in vain for me to try to pei- euade you to save your souls against your own wills ; therefore I leave you in the hands of God, praying him to havo mercy on you, for Christ's eake. " But allow me to tell you. that if you and I tr not saved, it is not because tve have net had wain WORSHIP A.1 SEA 55 ing enough It is not because the Lord would not help us ; it is not because Christians do not desire our salvation ; it is not because Christ has not done all that was possible, as a Saviour, he could do ; it is not because the Spirit of God LM no compassion upon us. No : it is simply be- cause we do not wish to be saved. " But I seem to hear you say, ' We do wish to be saved.' Well, then, show by your actions that you wish to be saved. If you were on a wreck at sea, and had not the means of subsistence, were in a state of starvation, and no hope of escaping the jaws of death, if in this situation, while you had just given up the last ray of hope, and was about to lay yourself down and die. you should discover in the horizon a sail, making towards you, and if upon her coming up, she should send a boat to rescue you from your forlorn condition, do you vhink that you would refuse to go on beard of the stanch ship, and leave your deplorable wreck, and insist on their taking the wreck in tow, and leave you on board of her 1 Would not such conduct be unreasonable ? So, and much more so, is the conduct of men, who find themselves adrift upon the ocean of time, in a body completely wrecked with sin, and their souls are starving for the righteousness of Christ. Behold ! in the spir- itual horizon a stately vessel heaves in sight! It is the ark of safety. Will you refuse to leava your self-righteous wreck? Do you expect the Captain of salvation to take your old wreck of sit in tow. and tow you into heaven in that state? You cannot be so unreasonable. " You understand the Scripture, where our 84. yiour says, ' Ye must be born again.' ' Therefore, if any man be in Christ he is a new creature ' 06 -WORSHIP AT SRA. Now this boat is alongside, waiting your reply, Will you enter the ark of safety, or dare you stay another night adrift upon the ocean of life, and your body so wrecked with sin as soon to sink your soul with it, to everlasting woe ? Perhaps if you wait until to-morrow, you may have neither oppor- tunity nor inclination to attend to your soula." LORD, HEAR THE SEAMAN'S CRY. ' Awaked from gentlest midnight sleep, I hear the howling blast ; The chamber rocks the murmur deep Of ocean, rises fast. The lurid flash, the thunder's roar, Proclaim the tempest nigh, And wavering lights are off our shore 1 Lord, hear the seaman's cry!' This hour, perhaps, the sailor thinks, Of wife or mother far, As drenched and spiritless, he shrinks, At some portentous bar. The cresting foam betokens death ; The breaker's rage is nigh : He prays, with quick, redoubled breath; ' Lord, hear the seaman's cry !' ' Ah ! many a youth now lost in sin, And many a hoary sire, Who never prayed, this night begin To dread Almighty ire. In headlong fury while the bark Pierces the billows high, They learn to pray in anguish hark I ' Lord, hear the seaman's cry !' " Though sinking in the whelming flood, In solitary woe, Saviour ! thy ever-precious blood Can reach thy hapless foe FHE WAY TO 3 SAVED. 57 Catr.h the faint, smothered voice of him Whose penitential sijjh Rises amid the terror grim : 1 Lord, hear the seaman's cry !' " Pray for the saibr, ye who reat Upon your curtained bed : Pray to the Power at w hose behest The fearful storm hath sped. And when, released from fear and care, Sweet hours of night glide by, Be so.netimes this your fervent prayer ' Lord, hear the seaman's cry !' " Sailor's Magazine. THE WAY TO BE SAVED. iiH personally saved in lieaven, soually lost in hell. * SINNERS the voice of God regard, 'Tis mercy speaks to-day ; He calls you by his sovereign word, ' 's destructive wav. THE CASE OF SJ5AMEN. 63 M Your way is dark and leads to hell, Why will you persevere ; Can you in endless torments dwell, Shut up in black despair 1 " Why will you in the crooked paths Of sin and folly go 1 In pain you travel all your days, To reap immortal woe ! " But he that turns to God shall live, Through his abounding grace ; His mercy will the guilt forgive, Of those that seek his face. '' You are taught by this subject, reader, that you are not excluded from Christ and life by the greatness of your sins ; but if you perish, it must be from another cause : it must be on account of your wilful unbelief, in not accepting of Jesus Christ as your Saviour. Come, then, you that have been ringleaders in vice, come now, take the lead, and show others the way to Jesus Christ ; harlots, publicans, thieves, blasphemers, and mur- derers, if such be among you, there is salvation even for you, if you will but believe. 0, how astonish- ing is the love of God discovered in this way ! this way of life through his only Son." THE CASE OF SEAMEN. Extracts from a sermon preached by Rev. J. P. K. Henshaw, Bait. u THE very nature of their occupation cuts them off from the ordinary means of grace and religious improvement, during a great portion of their lives. It is estimated that seamen are on shore not more r,i THE Cib'K OF SEAMEN. than one-fourth of their time ; consequently, th* remainder is spent upon the bosom of the deep. They are, during three-fourths of their time, sepa- rated from home and kindred from all that is im- proving and refining in domestic life and. what is more lamentable, from all the public and social means of grace. To them no holy Sabbath marks the revolution of the week, by its welcome offer of repose for the body and instruction for the soul They are never called to bend the knee in common prayer to our common Father in heaven, nor to unite their voices in the social hymn of praise. No ambassador of peace proclaims in their ears the joyful tidings of redeeming love. No sacramental table, with its holy and inviting symbols, is spread before them, to remind them of the pains and ago- nies of Him who was crucified for their sins, and of the rich spiritual feast which he has provided for their souls. They may. indeed, ' see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep ;' they may behold the heavens he has made, the moou and the stars which he has ordained ; they may hear his threatenings in the tempest and the thunder, and perceive his mercy in their deliverance from perils ; and, if possessed of the volume of his word, they may cast their eye over its sacred pages ; but alas ! if their minds are not stored with religious sentiments, and they have not tire eye of faith, all will be a wide and unnleaning blank that will im- part no instruction, and excite no proper feelings in their hearts : ' They regard not the works of the Lord, nor consider the operations of his hands.' If we find that, on land, where the means of grace abound, where men have 'line upon line, arid pre- eept upon precept. here a little and there a little ' o few are truly devoted to God, and active in re- OBL "CATIONS TO S1AMEN. TO ligion, it would be like looking for impossibilities, and supposing seamen to be more than human, to expect that their minds would be stored with Chris- tian knowledge, and their actions governed by Chris- tian precepts, under the circumstances of destitu- tion in which they are placed. u Till within a few years past, an entire indifier ence and apathy on this subject prevailed. The poor seamen arrived on our shores, and, so far from being surrounded by the agents of benevolence and friends of religion, who desire to promote their temporal and eternal welfare, they were seized by harpies, dragged to the haunts of dissipation and vice, and, like the poor man who fell among thieves, ' stripped, wounded, and left half dead ;' and the friends of humanity and religion, as if utterly for- getful of their duties, like the priest and Levite, in the parable, left them to the mercy of their tor mentors, ' and passed by on the other side !' " Can we wonder, then, at the low state of relig- ion and morals among seamen, when no man cared for their souis ? when no counsellors appeared to in- struct them in the knowledge of God, and no kind friends took them by the hand to lead them in the way of life ? Must not a part of the guilt be laid at our doors ? Have they not a strong claim to our compassion and benevolence, grounded upon our former insensibility to their misery, and neglect of their best interests ? Is it not time that we begin in earnest to act the part of the good Samaritan ?" OBLIGATIONS TO SEAMEN. " What Christian man does not long for the time when there shall be no farther displays of naval 6* 86 OBLIGATIONS TO SEAMEN. skill, and martial valor when the brave and gen erous spirits of whom I am speaking, baptized with the spirit of the Gospel, will carry the news of sal- vation with them in all their voyages, and go, as swift messengers, to corrupt and idolatrous nations, bearing the joyful tidings of peace with God, and good-will to all mankind ! " To seamen we are indebted for many of our comforts, and almost all of our luxuries. They commit themselves to the perils of the deep, brave the storm and the tempest, and visit foreign climes, for the purpose of supplying delicacies for our ta- bles, ornaments for our persons, books for our li- braries, and decorations for our dwellings. When feasting upon imported luxuries ; when clothed in purple or fine linen ; when admiring your splen- did and finely-wrought articles of furniture ; or enriching your miuds with the treasures of foreign genius and science ; think of the claims of the sail- or, by whose toil and exposure these things have been procured for you. Let the merchant, espe- cially, reflect upon the heavy debt of gratitude he owes. When counting the wealth in his coffers, when surveying his store-houses, filled with the valuable productions of other countries. when liv- ing in ease, affluence, and splendor,- let him call to mind, that, under a gracious Providence, he is chiefly indebted for all his possessions and com- forts, to the sweat and toil of the hardy seamen, who have submitted to a temporary banishment from their native land, with all its privileges and comforts, from Sabbaths and sanctuaries and home ; and let him ask. what return he can make for the labors and sacrifices to which they have submitted in his service? Ah ! where is our boasted patriot ism, if we make no acknowledgments to those who MEANS OT GRACE. flf nave been the supporters and defend *ra of our country's rights and- liberties? Where are cur principles of justice and honor, if we offer no re- turn of benefits to those who have so largely con- tributed to our prosperity and wealth 1 Have we even the virtue of the degraded and vicious publi- cans, if we do not good to those who have done (food to us ?" MEANS OF GRACE. The same means of grace that serve as channels through which light and consolation are poured into the souls of other men, must be extended to sur seafaring brethren, if we hope to see them made partakers of the salvation which is in Christ Jesus. They must have the word of life and other cooks of religious instruction put into their hands. Not a ship should sail from a Christian port with- out a supply of Bibles and religious tracts. In the oours of loneliness and weariness incident to a voy- age, the most negligent and hardened might be led to take up a tract and read it, from motives of cu- riosity or amusement, or for want of other employ- ment. And that tract, before contemned and ridi- culed, might be the instrument, in the hands of the Holy Spirit, of arresting the attention of the sinner of opening his mind to perceive the reali- ties of au eternal world, and leading him. as a trembling penitent, to the foot of the cross. There are times in every seaman's life. when, by the force of outward circumstances, he must be led to re- flect on God. the sonl, and eternity. " Those men that go down to the sea. in ships, and do business pi great waters, see the works of the Lord, and ' Society. THE CARTER OF DUNDEE. To Seamen. BROTHER sailors : having passed a good part of my life among you, I really feel more regard for you than for any other of my countrymen. My early recollections, my most endearing associations are connected with your profession; and I shall 96 THE CARTER OF DUNDEE. never in this life covet a higher or more honorable title, than that of an honest British tar. The character of the British sailor is esteemed all over the world. Shall we not all, as individuals, do what we can to render ourselves worthy of such a profession 1 To encourage ourselves in some mea sure to do so, is the aim of the following remarks . You are aware that spirit-drinking is very pre- valent among us. Nothing can be more pernicious and more opposed to our real interest ; leading as it does, directly to poverty, ignorance, infamy, dis- ease and death. In consequence of the habit ac- quired by many of us, of seeking gratification in the use of intoxicating liquors, we are kept in con- tinual poverty, not only by the expense incurred in perpetually supplying this gratification, but by the means of various snares and temptations to which drinking exposes us, particularly in the company of sharpers, pickpockets, and impostors ; for you well know, how easily seamen in a state of intoxication are robbed, cheated, and flattered out of their well-earned and far-sought wages. I would beseech you, therefore, to think of the dangers to which you are exposed; to the hunger, thirst, cold, and hardships you endure in obtaining your money; and of the folly and stupid madness of squander- ing it away on an article like ardent spirits, which is not only useless, but pernicious. Perhaps some of us imagine, that ardent spirits add to the strength of our bodies. This is a mia take. There is nothing in them according to th most eminent doctors, of a nourishing property, un- less it be the portion of water which they contain they stimulate, and produce an excitement for a short time ; but this is invariably followed by a greater or less degree of lassitude, langor and fa- THE CARTER OF DUNDEE. 97 tigue ; so that so far from strengthening the body, they absolutely render it weaker, and at last cause disease and premature old age. But I may here appeal to the personal experience of many of my brother sailors. Do you not enfeeble your bodies more in the course of a few weeks on shore, while you are spending your money, than you did in the months or years during which you were earning it ? Now, keeping out of sight the contagious diseases you are exposed to from your vicious companions ; the dangerous colds brought on by exposure after intoxication ; the many wounds, bruises, and inju- ries you meet with by falls, fighting, or otherwise: I say, even keeping all these out of sight, the mero habitual use of spirits brings on a great variety of diseases, and very often leads to sudden death, be- cause they give a strong excitement without nour- ishment, and drive on the human system at a quicker rate than its all-wise Maker intended. The man who seeks strength by the use of ardent spi- rits, acts like a ship-master, who, when his ship is tender and in danger of upsetting, sets more sail, in order to relieve her. And what should we think of the man, who would keep us constantly employed in setting up our rigging, adding tackle to tackle, and purchase upon purchase, and wring- ing it down without relaxation or intermission ? We know very well, that however strong it might be at first, it would in the end tumble about our ears. The same foolish conduct with respect to our bodies, must produce the most disastrous con- sequences. But suppose, that after we have carried a press of sail for a length of time, our rigging be- comes slack, and that after having been long at sea, and laboring hard, the seams of our vessel have looseuo 1 and widened, and that she has in conse- 9 98 THE CARTER OF DUNDEE. quence become leaky, would we carry, more sail to lighten our rigging, or would we take our vessel iuto a heavier sea to close her seams and stop her leaks? Yet this is the way many of us take with our bodies ; when we are overstrained with labor, we driuk ardent spirits, which excite us still more, and even sleep in such circumstances .yields no re- freshment. Is it not, therefore, the height of madness, to use an expensive and hurtful excite- ment, for which, in a state of health, there is no manner of necessity ? We are, in fact, capable of undergoing all ordinary fatigue and labor with the strength conferred upon us by our Creator, and have no need of artificial force. There are a number of Christians among seamen, and let me direct the attention of such individu als to the awful consequences of intemperance on those around them. When they see its ravages even in this life, did the evil go no farther, they would find enough to awaken the kindest sympa- thies, to arouse the strongest energies of their na- ture, to call forth their Christian love : and when they see the people among whom their lot is cast, heedlessly ru.hiug on to, and madly and eagerly preparing themselves for everlasting destruction, how great, how powerful is the appeal ! They will try all means ; and let them among other means form Temperance Societies. Let them do so in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who although he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might become rich. Let them become instruments in the hand of God. to arrest the pestilence which, like a blasting mildew, has overspread the land, and will continue to weak- en the strength, and corrupt the morals of our be- loved country. Unless the temperate unite in a THE CARTKR OF DUNDEE. 9* item and unyielding abstinence from this body- and-soul-destroying agent, it will continue to ruin our physical, moral, and intellectual energies, and weaken the wooden-walls of old England, more than the dry-rot of her timbers, or the most power- ful foreign enemy. Now, my dear friends and fel- low-seamen, if you have a regard for your own interest ; if you have any respect to character ; if you have any attachment to those around you ; if you are lovers of your country ; if you love your children ; and above all, if you love your God, 1 beseech you rally round the standard of temper- ance, and by God's blessing, we shall be the meana of working to his glory and to our country 1 ! good.- - Wm. Cruickshank. ODE TO RUM. / 1 HATI. ! mighty Rum! the drunkard's greatest joy And let thy praise my willing pen employ : From east to west thy mighty deeds are known, From humble peasant to the royal throne. Where'er thou dost thy mighty sceptre sway, Obsequious homage all thy subjects pay ; To thee devote their bodies and their souls, And sing thy praise around their flowing bowl*. At thy command both sense and reason fly, Riches and honor pine away and die : Domestic peace thou hast the power to kill, Where thou dost fix thine empire in the will. Bath kings and mighty warriors thou hast slain ; Made prostrate heroes press the sanguine plain : Their thousands slain, the sons of Mars may bout, But thou hast tens of thousands in thy toast. Inspired by thee thy votaries dare to face Pale povjrty, disease, and foul disgrace ; While in thy service they are not dismayed, At death and hell in awful forms portrayed. 100 SANCTIFICATION OF THE SABBATH. Thy magic power can clamorous conscience adit, And banish all the fears of future ill ; And those who serve thee faithful to the end, Need never hope to find a better friend." Sailor's Magazine. Aim BACCHC*. HOW THE SABBATH SIAY BE SANCTIFIED AT SEA. "REMEMBER the Sabbath-day to keep it holy.' The Sabbath is to be remembered, not only as a day of bodily rest, that it be not profaned ; but as a day of spiritual activity, that it be sanctified. It is not enough that we refrain from worldly labor, for our ox and our ass may do that, but we must engage in heavenly duties. For, at the same time it is our duty to deny ourselves the search after worldly pleasure or worldly profit; it is equally our duty to seek for spiritual enjoyments and the profit of the soul. And whilst we are called upon to distinguish the Sabbath-day from all other days, we are likewise positively charged, if we would have a blessing from God thereon, to "call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honora- ble." Let us, then, consider how we may so hallow the Sabbath, that we may glorify God, and derive spiritual blessings for ourselves. These two things, indeed, always go together. If we' earnestly seek the glory of God, we certainly shall receive bless- ings on our own souls. This being the case, we shall principally confine our remarks to the means of sanctifying the Sabbath at sea, in order to spiri- tual edification. Though there be no " sound of the church-going SANCTIFICATION OF THE SABBATH. 101 bell," to call you to the duty of public prayer ; though you have no sacred temple in which to pre- sent yourselves unto the Lord ; and no consecrated priest to minister in holy things ; yet it is as much your duty to remember the Sabbath at sea, and to endeavor to sanctify it. as it is to keep it holy on shore, And I must be free to tell you, th .t if yoA excuse yourselves, the Lord excuseth you iOt. 19 makes no exception for sailors. Does an_, one say, that it is not possible to serve the Lord at sea ? We cannot keep the Lord's day holy ? We cannot have divine service on each returning Sabbath 1 Mistaken friends, allow me to say you can. The word of God says you must. If you cannot serve God at sea, you ought to stay on shore. If your profession prevents you from being good Christians, holy men, let me tell you, it is a bad profession ! But I thank God it is otherwise. Neither your occupation as sailors, nor the want of churches to which you may resort, necessarily prevents you from leading a holy and religious life. For the Lord, who restricts not his servants to approach him only in houses made with hands, can be wor- shipped where no such churches exist, afar off at sea, even as on shore. Because, " wheresoever two or three are gathered together in the name of Christ," there hath he promised to be in the midst ; there is a church, and you may seek and expect a blessing. And as to opportunity, there is abun- dance if you would improve it : if you have the will, you will find the way. Gales, or dangers, or diffi- culties, though they occur in their usual course, will seWom prevent your waiting on God, if you be in earnest about this important duty. And this fact I can speak to with confidence, because I hav proved it. 9* 102 SANC7IFICATIOJ* OF THE SABBATH. In a voyage (the Greenland whale fishery,) much more perplexing, and much more subject to Buddeii embarrassments and dangers than the voyages commonly pursued, I have known public worship to be carried on so regularly, that never a Sabbath passed over, for several years together, ithout one or more full services being performed, almost every case, indeed, during the time re- ferred to, there were two regular services, after the form of the Church of England, including the singing of psalms and the reading of a sermon, besides short prayers, and the catechizing of the apprentices in the evening. During these voyages, severe gales have commenced on the Sunday ; dan- gers from rocks, ice, and lee shores have threat- ened ; frequent embarrassments from thick weather have occurred ; yet time and opportunity were always found for the worship of God. The success of the voyage often seemed to be in the way ; duty to the owners of the ship seemed to forbid ; yet we persevered in waiting upon God, and certain I am we often found his blessing. In a few instances, indeed, the usual hour of worship could not be exactly kept ; but an opportunity has always been found, of having each of the two services in succes- eion, and generally the third, according to the plan I am about to suggest : This plan, which, on account of its practical efficiency. I can confidently recommend, I shall now state ; and may He whose worship and honor it is designed to promote, incline the heart of every reader to receive it, so far as it is applicable to the voyage and circumstances under which he sails ; and may the same comfort and blessing- be continued. THE SAILOR. PHAY for the sailor pray for him While tossing on the deep, That harmlessly the raging storm May round his vessel sweep. " When clouds o'erhang the wintry *ky, And howls the tempest loud, Pray that the angry billows may Not be the sailor's shroud. ' Pray for his safety and return, Some humble cot to cheer, Where hearts with pain and anguish bnnc In every storm's career. 140 INCIDENTS IN A SAILulTS LIFE. Pray for the sailor that his soul, When all his toils are o'er, (n heaven be safely moored at last, To live for evermore." Sailor's JMagtunn*. INCIDENTS IN A SAILOR'S LIFE. ADDRESSED TO SEAMEN. (Continued.) Lafayette Colkge, May 17, 1843 I had read in the word of God, if " any one is afflicted among you, let him pray. Is any merry 1 let him sing psalms." 1 therefore had recourse to my prayer-book; and learned the 100th Psalm, which I attempted to use as a substitute for the songs I had been wont to sing in my leisure hours. I often sung it with tears in my eyes ; but it did not make me holy. My heart was hard as ada- mant still. Finding that this course availed me nothing, I resolved to board in a Sailor's Home when the vessel arrived in Boston, thinking that if I lived with respectable people, I should be ashamed to act otherwise than they did. In short, I desired' a change in my ways, and yet could not let go the world. This too I found to be "vanity and vexation of spirit." However, on the 9th of January, 1841, the Lord brought me again to Boston, and as soon as the vessel was made fast, I took my clothes to the Sailor's Home, on Fort Hill, was introduced to the landlord, and by him ushered to the reading-room. J sat down on the chair nearest to the door, and began to reconnoi- tre. The first conclusion I came to (after glancing INCIDENTS IN A SAILOR'S LIFE. 141 around the room at the boarders.) was that I had no business there, unless I could appear as decent and respectable as they were. At that time I had not a jacket to my back. I therefore resolved im- mediately that I would become sober and careful ; but resolutions based on so frail a foundation as self, were held inviolate no longer than till some one tempted me to break them. Cue resolution to abstain from ardent spirits I kept a whok hour ; another five days ; but on the sixth was tempted by a female to drink, and had not sufficient moral courage to say, No ! and consequently broke my promise. Oh! that the ladies knew the influence they have over the mind of the sailor, and would use that influence for good ! The following are some of the reasons why 1 broke my resolutions : I kept the company of those persons who were in the habit of using the " POISON." I visited with them the theatre, dance-house, circus and rum-shop, and was therefore continually in the midst of tempta- tion, which, when resisted, laid me open to the taunts and jeers of my companions, which I could not stand without divine help. I drank nothing but cider, it is true, yet that led me in the way of, and increased my desire for something stronger. Breaking my resolutions thus, from time to time, I felt that it was useless to make any more, as it was but lying continually. With this view of my own frailty and weakness, instead of renewing my determination to become temperate, and seeking help from on high, I (on the contrary), gave way with reckless stupidity to the cravings of iny insa- tiable thirst, and determined to try to reform no more ; but to resume my former way of living. But ' God's ways are not as our ways, nor hia 142 IJNClDENTb IK A s^iLOl. S LIFE. thoughts as our thoughts," or he had left me to myself to fill up the ' cup of wrath against the day of wrath." God, who is rich in mercy, dealt not with me as I deserved. He did not sufler me to follow the dictates of my own sinful heart. He saw me give up to sinful pleasures, and his bowels oi compassion were open to me. He stretched forth his hand, and plucked me from the brink of eternal death. The week had been spent in revellings and drunkenness. The theatre was preferred to the prayer-meeting, and Sabbath morning found me aa reckless and impenitent as before. On that morn- ing (the 17th,) the landlord, (Capt. Buffun.) came into the reading-room, where 1 was sitting, and in- quired who would go to church. Some of the men rose to go with him ; but I sat still. He theii ad- dressed me personally, and requested me to gt, with him to the Mariner's Church. I consented, rather reluctantly, and remarked, that as it was snowing, I might as well go there as anywhere else, to while away the time till noon. 1 went. But so far from whiling away the time, the Lord there taught me the true value of it. The text was taken from Haggai, 1st chapter and 5th verse : ^ Now, therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts : con sider your ways." And in so glaring a light was the situation of the sinner portrayed, that the truth carried an arrow of conviction to my heart, and left there a wound, for which I could find no healing balm, no antidote, till JESUS; appeared in all his loveliness, and spoke comfort to my troubled soul by his '' peace-speaking blood." When I felt the horrors of my situation, I lis- tened very attentively to hea.r of the remedy. I beard that the only way to obtain peace, was, to INCIDENTS IX A SAILORS LIFE. 143 give my heart and soul to Christ, without reserve or delay. This however appeared to ine to be un- necessary. I went to church again in the after- noon and evening, hoping to find some way by which I might be saved without entirely giving up the world. To resign my worldly pleasure* was too great a sacrifice. My shipmates would laugh me to scorn. I could not keep their company, and must therefore be ridiculed. All these things were set before my mind's eye, in their most lively colors, by the archenemy of souls. In the evening, at the " Monthly Concert of Prayer for SEAMEN" I heard some letters read bj the pastor, which he had received from pious sea- men. They carried to my heart a desire to feel as the writers profess to feel. New sensations, crowd- ing one upon another, filled my soul with such views of my own nothingness, as I had never be- fore experienced. I saw myself a lost, ruined, guilty, and de- praved worm of the dust, to whom nothing re- mained in justice to my former life, but the black- ness of darkness ; and if any thing could increase the astonishment I felt at the long-suffering and forbearing mercy of the Lord toward my guilty soul, it was the scene which followed the reading of the letters. I saw with surprise several respect- able looking seamen in different parts of the house, rise, and declare their allegiance to the King of kings, and claim him as ' ; the Lord of their right- eousness." They told of deliverance from hell and the grave, through the merits of the Redeemer They spoke of the joy arising from a sense of par doned sin, and the happiness experienced wink under the shadow of the Almighty's wing. Here new wonders burst in upon my soul ; it 144 INCIDENTS IN A SAILOR 's LIFE. shrunk from itself ; desired to look up, but dared not, so great was the mountain of sins. A sailor pious ! It was to me a miracle. I loathed myself. Death stared me in the face, as my just aeserts. The horrors of a broken law appalled w f guilty soul. I saw myself condemned, and acknowledged my sentence just. When the services were closed, 1 returned home, and crept to my bed almost in a-rspair. I would willingly have prayed before retiring, but the fear of man prevented me. rvs willingly would I have eased my mind with piomises of the future; but conscience said that it wyuld not heal the past. I would have slept, but 1 could not. I desired to banish from my thoa'/nw both of the past and of the future ; but thn arrow of convic- tion rankled in the newly openetf wound, and set both peace and rest fit defiance. In that dread hour, while suffering the exctuciating agonies of a tortured mind, and writhing under the influence of dark despair then came 6atan, to goad my already burdened conscience by casting up the mountains of my sins, which appeared to separate me from the only one to whom I could look for pardon and peace. The following were a few of the mo.st impassable, my conception of God being so poor and limited : " You are too late now. You ha^e sinned away your day of grace ; to pray is useless ! You cannot be forgiven." All this I felt inclined to believe. The offers of mercy I had rejected, the neglected morning and evening worship, and the prayer-meetings at the Home, that I had refused to attend ; also the theatre I had chosen in its stead, all rose up against me in dread array, and awakened within me a desire to erve God with all my heart. I accordingly re- INCIDENTS IN A s.x LOR'S LIFE. 14fl jueotc i a friend to call me early in the morning, that 1 might attend the family worship. I arose befoij daylight in the morning, and descended to the reading room. On entering, I perceived by the light of the lamp, that the Bible was open. A thought immediately darted across my mind, that w)ine passage in that good book would convey peace to :ny troubled soul. I read, and the fol- lowing words solemnly impressed my mind. " Saul, Saul, why persecutes! thou me ? :) I burst into a flood of tears, and felt truly. " that it was hard to kick against the pricks." I turned to the person who was in the room with me. and said, " Mr. Hall, I have need of the same power that converted Saul, to bring my soul from the path of destruc- tion." He conversed with me some time on the subject of religion, but without the desired effect. He pointed ine to the " Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world ;'' but my heart was not sufficiently subdued to cast off the world entirely. The wound was not sufficiently deep to induce me to seek the true balm of Gilead. After breakfast, with my mind in this perturbed state, I left the house?. t.c seek in other scenes some change of feel- ing, something to alleviate the pains and quench the fir^f that with indomitable fury burned withiu. Just as well might I have striven to fly from self and seek utter annihilation, as to fly from either the Spirit or the presence of God. A FOREMAST HA NO, To be continued. 13 I 46 INCIDENTS IN' A SAILOR'S LIFE. MY SPIRIT SHALL NOT ALWAYS STIUVV GEM. vi. 3. 11 PAY, sinner, hath a voice within, Oft whisper'd to thy secret soul, Urg'd thce to leave the ways of sin, And yield thy heart to God's control 1 " Hath something met thee in the path Of worldliness and vanity, And pointed to the coming wrath, And warned thee from that wrath to flee I ' Sinner, it was a heavenly voice, It was the Spirit's gracious call, L bade thee make the better choice, And haste to seek in Christ thine all. u Spurn not the call to life and light; Regard in time the warning kind ; That call, thou inay'st not always slight, And yet the grace of mercy find, "God's Spirit will not always strive With harden d, self-destroying man ; Ye, who persist his love to grieve, May never hear his voice again. " Sinner perhaps this very day, Thy last accepted hour may be; Oh, should'st thou grieve him thus awat Then hope may never beam on thee. IlTfe. INCIDENTS IN A SAILOR'S LIFE. ADDRESSED TO SEAMEN. {Continued.) Lafayette College, June 20, 18-13. After leaving the house, I shaped rny coum for the wharves, and strolled about among the INCIDENTS IN A SAILOR'S MFE. 147 shipping without any fixedness of purpose ; out had not wandered far when I met two of the sea- men wlio were boarding at the Sailor's Home. One of Miem accosted me with, " Well, C e, uhat do jou say for New Orleans?" Without considering what I was saying or do- ing. I consented to go with them, and immediately proceeded to the ship. We waited a few minutes for the capiam, and when he came on board, after asking a lew questions concerning the wages, I signed the articles to go to New Orleans and Eu- rope, and agreed to go on board the same afternooi at four o'clocK. On my way back to the Home I began to re- fleet on what I nad done, and to think of my poor dear mother from whom I had been absent three years and a half. I resolved to write to her and tell her of my whereabouts, (for she knew it not, but was looking daily for my return). When I reached the Home I did so ; and while writing, my mind was racked with the fears of death and hell, which caused me to feel (and express it too) that the way of the transgressor is hard. I had a strong presentiment that I should be lost in that vessel, and felt that I richly deserved it too. Under this impression 1 wrote a second letter to my mother, after which I called the landlord, and placing in his hands her address, requested him if any thing should happen to me on the pas- sage, to secure my money and clothes, (such as they were.) and send them to my mother, so strong was my presentiment that the Lord would spara me no longer. He promised that he wuld comply with my request, if necessary ; and after eyeing me for a moment with apparent concern, he arose and left 148 INCIDENTS IN A SAILORS LIFE. the room, beckoning me to follow him, which T did with mingled sensations of fear and shame, for I thought that he had taken notice of the alteration of my conduct, and I felt almost ashamed of myseli for having manifested so much concern for ray own safety. I followed him however to a private rooru ; nnd listened to him with interest while he de- scribed the state of a soul out of Christ. I thought my heart would burst with grief, when I saw my- self just in the same condition as he had pictured the unbeliever ; and. in the bitterness of my heart J gave vent to a flood of tears, such as I had never shed before. I felt myself a great criminal in the pres 'tice of my offended Judge, while the sword of justice hung over my head suspended by a hair. I felt lost ! lost ! ! forever. The thunders of Sinai appeared ready to burst upon me and overwhelm my troubled mind. I " believed and trembled." My friend, in his eagerness to benefit .my soul, probed the wound to the quick, and then, like a skilful physician, applied the healing balm, " the balm of Gilead," that serves to make the wounded whole, to melt the shackles of sin, and set the pris- oner free. He told me of the Saviour and his for- giving love, of his desire that none should perish, but that all should inherit eternal life, and of the sacrifice he made to purchase redemption for fal- len man. These truths, beautiful as they are. cast but a momentary gleam across my pathway, and seemed but to render my case still more hope- less I then saw my own deformity for the first time in its true light; that gleam ef light served but to expose the hidden corruptions of my nature, and having done this, left me in still greater dark- ness. I saw not the efficacy of the S'irioitr'x blooa to wash out suck deep-stained guilt as that which INCIDENTS IN A SA:LCR ? S LIFE. 14S had taken possession of my soul ; I therefore felt assured that Christ would not forgive so vile a worm of the dust. I saw myself a fit object for God to exercise his divine wrath upon, inasmuch as I had cast away and slighted the sure mercies of God in Christ Jesus, and was now grasping at that which was forever removed beyond my reach. And - was mercy clean gone forever ?" Could the Lord forgive one who had sinned against His Most Holy Law for twenty years ? Would he conde- scend to return and love MIC freely 1 Was his anger indeed turned away? Yes! Glorious truth ' Soul cheering assurance ! " It is I. against whom you have sinned," says the Saviour. " Be not afraid.' 1 ' 1 "I am the way. the truth, and the life." ' He that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." Rise then, ye that are dead in trespasses and sins ! seamen obey the call and be saved. He will give you life eternal. My friend told me that he had sinned against the same Lord and Saviour thirty years ; yet had he been rescued from the brink of the pit, and that the Saviour was willing to save me though in the same perilous condition ; that he had carried the Redeemer to sea in his heart, and that it was not difficult (when Jesus was on board), to endure the scoffs and jeers of his impious shipmates. These salutary truths seemed to inspire me with courage, and with a desire to spend the remainder of ray days in the service of such a Master. Ob- serving perhaps some likelihood of change in my conduct, he pressed upon me the necessity of seek- ing the Lord in my closet, and begged me to seek counsel from my Saviour in all things, whether ol % temporal or spiritual nature, assuring me at tlm lame time, from the page of Holy writ, that ha 13* 15C INCIDENTS IN A SA ILOK's LIFE. would never leave or forsake me, or any other per eon who put their trust in him. Before leaving him I felt determined to seek the Lord and strive to serve him. I had read, when very young, the Pilgrim's Progress, by Bunyan, and its truths ; many of them came into my mind, which caused a desire to read that good book again I sought to obtain a copy of it, that I might discern how far I had travelled on the road to ruin. But alas . I was only on the point of leaving the " city of De- Btruction," though I afterwards fell in the " Slough of Despond." The next morning, as I was about to leave the house to go on board, (for the vessel did not sail as appointed,) my friend Captain Buti'um brought me a copy of the desired work, and with it another little book called the Christian's Daily Food, and begged me to read it whenever I had an opportu- nity ; but above all. said he, " seek Christ the sin- ner's friend," and hoist your colors directly when you get on board, that your shipmates may see what you intend doing, as though he had said, show them that you intend to fight under the blood- stained banner of the cross. Shortly after receiv- ing this counsel, I left the house with a bundle of clothes under my arm, and proceeded towards the vessel. But scarce had I crossed the threshold, before my mind was filled with sadness at the thought of leaving the place which, I trust, was the birth-place of my soul unto righteousness. It vus indeed a Sailor's Home to my soul. Oh, that it may prove so to many more t)f the tempest- tossed sous of the deep ! I then remembered that I was about to leave the place which abounded in religious privileges, and cast, myself among men that feared not the Loi i neither sought a knowledge o! INCIDENTS IN A SAILOR'S LIFE. 15| nifl ways. 1 remembered too, that only a week pro vious. I had be.'n invited to the prayer-meeting in that house, and had given the theatre the preference and now, that I would have given worlds to have enjoyed the privileges, I was forced to leave it, and i:i at too on the very day on which that prayer-meet- ing was to be held. I felt that I was tearing my- sel away frum all that was dear to me in life ; and while tears, scalding tears of contrition, coursed their way in rapid succession down my burning cheeks, I cast my bundle in the street, and ran back to the house to beg an interest in their pray ers when they met in the evening. I saw a pious man in the doorway, and requested him to pray for me that I might hold out as a bright and shin- ing light on board the vessel, and be finally saved through Christ the Redeemer. I went away some- what relieved by the promise he made me to com- ply with my request, and in a few moments I was on board and ready to Bail. The crew were or- dered to get breakfast, and I went below with them, thinking that it was better for me to commence the work of the Lord at once than to leave it un- done until the ship was out at sea. I took from iny chest the Bible which had been so long buried beneath the clothes at the bottom of it. and read, Joinmencing at the first chapter of Genesis. It will perhaps be needless to tell you, my reader, that I was laughed at. But the day in which a blaspheming shipmate could drive me from the word of God I trust, had already passed away. I felt that their jeers and scoffs could not hurt me while God was my friend; and that their smilos, could I pain them, would avail me nothing in the day of K'd&tnent. And now I rejoice in the bliss ful hrf*, that all such days, with th >ir sins and in 152 INCIDENTS IN A S/ ILOR T S LYE. iquities, have been fore-vcr banished from the bo.')ll vf God's remembrance. A FOREMAST HAND. To be continued. \ 1 AWAK'D by Sinai's awful sound, My soul in bonds of guilt I found, And knew not where to go ; Eternal truth did loud proclaim, 1 The sinner must be born again, Or sink to endless woe.' " When to the law I trembling fled, It poured its curses on my head, I no relief could find ; This fearful truth increas-'d my pain, The sinner must be born again,' And whelm'd my tortured mind. " Again did Sinai's thunders roll, And guilt lay heavy on my soul, A vast oppressive load ; Alas ! I read and saw it plain, 1 The sinner must be born again,' Or drink the wrath of God. ' The saints I heard with rapture tell, How Jesus conquered Death and Hell, And broke the fowler's snare ; Yet, when I found this truth remain, The sinner must be born again/ I sunk in deep despair. * But while I thus in anguish lay, The gracious Saviour pass'd this way, And felt his pity move ; The sinner, by his justice slain, Now by his grace is born again, And sings redeeming love. Ocn INCIDENTS IN A SAILOK'S LIFE. 153 INCIDENTS IN A SAILOR'S LIFE. .ADDRESSED TO SEAMEN. (Continued.) Lafayette College, July 18, 1843. DEAR READER : When I commenced writing this narrative for your perusal, hoping that God might be glorified and your soul benefited by it, I did not intend carrying it to so great a length. I have therefore detained you much longer than I expected wheu I got under weigh. However, if you will bear with me a little longer, and I can. have the indulgence of our kind friend the editor, I will proceed. 1 left you, or you left me, rather, last month, sitting in the forecastle of the ship Birmingham, reading my Bible. I had not read long, before one of the crew came to me. and asked me if I was religious. (Here Satan tempted me). I an- swered, ' ; I am not, (here grace prevailed,) but through grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. I intend to become a Christian ; or, at least, to try it for a season : for I have served Satan twenty-two years, and have received no remuneration for my labors. I have fought long and well for him. with a zeal worthy of a better cause ; yet am I unre- warded, save by the tortures of a guilty conscience. Now is my determination settled. I will serve God, if He be my helper/' My shipmate smiled, as though in doubt as to the stability of my deter- mined resolution, and said it was well if I could w stick to it." I suffered much in my mind till towards noon, when I took from my pocket the lit- tle book (Daily Food.) given to me ly brother Buf taui, and real " if any mun sin, we have an Ad- 154 INCIDLNTS IN A SA LOli's LIFi. vocatt with the Father, even Jesus Clnist, th Righteous, and He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world." And beneath that the following lines ; " He (Christ) ever lives to intercede Before his Father's face, Give him, my soul, thy cause to plead, Nor doubt a Father's grace." Here the mystery appeared solved. I had been doubting a Father's grace ; but I determined to do so no more. I stowed myself away in the be- tween-decks, among the cargo, and cried, " 0-Lord ! if I must perish, let it be here, even at the foot of the cross, where never yet man perished, at the feet of a crucified Redeemer." The turbulence of my mind being somewhat allayed by this prayer, through the intercession of a Divine Mediator, I arose from my knees, and resumed my duty with more hope than before. Now, the moral gloom which had hitherto enshrouded my mind, was in a measure alleviated ; and I, began to breathe more freely, indulging a faint hope that God would, for Christ's sake, have mercy on my sin-polluted and heavy-burdened soul. But since the first rays of an eternal light h;td been partially unfolded to my view, I determined, with all the energies of my eoul, to perish only there, feeling like Esther of old ; " If I perish, I perish." I embraced every opportunity I could get, with- out neglecting my duty, to seek my Bethel, the BETHKSDA OF MY SOUL, and there pour my com- plaints and sorrows into the ear of Omnipotence. Our vessel having left the wharf at Boston about 1 1 A. M., with a string north-wester, by night w Were well clear of the land : the watches were set INCIDENTS IN A SAILOR'S LIFE. 155 and ras chosen by the chief mate. While pacing the deck with my watchmates. every one had his own peculiar yarn to spin about landlords and land- ladies, and some began to form their plans for the nest port, or to make good promises for the future. Alas ! made only to be broken, should they fall into the hands of the " laud shark." I joined them in their walk, and for the first time in my life, found that I had nothing to talk about. Nothing, did I say ? I had something. I had an inex- haustible theme. But, the question arose, Shall I broach it ? " No" said Satan, " they will revile you." " Blessed are ye when men shall revile you for my sake," says the Saviour. I did bring this truth before them : ' The way of transgressors is hard." but was almost immediately overpowered with opposing arguments ; among which, that I should prove a hypocrite in the end, was not the least. I now saw for the first time also, the emi- nent danger I was in of clinging to the world, and found myself, at the time when I most required re- ligious aid and instruction, afloat among a set of men as bad as myself, and, therefore, could expect no consolation from them. In this crisis I flew to him who was alone ' mighty to save," nor did I plead in vain. Two days after leaving Boston, while sitting at dinner in the forecastle, I heard that appalling cry : ' : A man overboard." Sailors will know what my feelings were, for they have felt them. But the landsman must hear it before he can possibly sympathize with me. For pen cannot describe, nor pencil delineate the horror that is depicted on the countenance of the seaman, as he beholds kit shipmate struggling with the mighty waves of ocean, and sees that he cannot render him any as- 156 INCIDENTS IN A SAILOIl's LIFE. Bistance. I rushed on deck, and ran forward with the rest of the crew, but alas ! was only in time to gee the vessel leap upon his defenceless head, like a beast of the forest on its prey, and the wat/.j-* closed over him forever. The crew then ran aft. hoping that he would rise again ; but in vain. 1 ran up to the mizeu-top, and watched for him, but my search was fruitless. While there, I prayed tc God in the anguish of my soul, for fear that I should be the next cut off with all rny sins upon me. In a short time after the above event, I learned that it was a Christian duty to deny self for Christ's sake. 1 therefore made way with cards, dice, song- books, dream-books, novels, romances, tobacco, and all intoxicating drinks, and prayed the Lord to erase the very thoughts of them from my memory. My shipmates now called my attention ; I longed for their conversion ; I plead with them, and they persecuted me. One, however, listened to the tale of a Saviour's sufferings and death, and wept over them too. He agreed with me that we should tra- vel the heavenly pathway together ; we prayed toge- ther ; but scarce had we taken our departure from the city of Destruction, before he, fell into the Slough of Despond, and in his fear came very nigh ruining me. He turned back to the world, while 1. through grace, determined to perish (if need be) in an at- tempt to reach the opposite shore : and I trust my determination was not made in vain. I continued to warn my shipmates still: but my companion de- clared that he had sinned against the Holy Ghost. He thought that it was impossible for him to bo saved ; and while in this disturbed state of mind, he filled me also with apprehensions of the same direful import. Yet iu ali this grace was my d T A SAILOR'S LIFE. 151 Iiverer. I collected my shipmates on the forecas- tle on the Sabbath day, and read tracts and good books to them. But in a short time some of them cursed me for reading what they called " Christ- killing tracts," fearing (to use their own words) that the ' ship would be carried to heaven in a hurry." Our good ship, notwithstanding, sped on her course ; each day bringing with it some slan- derings or curses to me, on account of my relig- ious principles. While reading my Bible, some would sit beside me. and sing some blackguard song, or relate some obscene story, to draw my mind away from the Word of God. In the providence of God. after a passage of forty-four days, we arrived at New Orleans. But ! how was my heart pained when forced to be- hold the total desecration of the Sabbath. I was horror-stricken when I saw, on that holy day, the market thronged with purchasers and salesmen, the grog-shops filled with men callous to every good and holy feeling, and giving vent to the most hor- rid curses and blasphemies ; and the tables sur- rounded with gamblers, whose souls appeared to hang upon the hazard of the die ; so intently were they engaged in their lawless pursuits. These things shocked me so that I left my vessel as soon as she was discharged, and took up my abode at tho Sailor's Home, where I found several pious sea- men, and after a short stay, shipped with them in a ship bound to the port of Philadelphia. We had not been long on board before the Lord gave us one of those who sailed with us for our hire. On the 10th of May. we reached our port of destination, and on the 23d, three of my ship- mates besides myself, united ourselves in an ever- lasting covenant with the Lamb of God in his holj 14 158 INCIDENTS IN A SAILOR'S LIFE. sanctuary, (the Mariner's Church) under the car of the llev. Q. Douglass. Thanks to the good people of the land, tlia the sailor has now a place where he can worship his God, when his perilous voyage is ended. May the blessing- of God rest upon all who have aided in this good work ! is the pious sailor's prayer. Tt is necessary that I should say but little more, and therefore, if my reader will just lay to" till next month. I will conclude this brief, rcrt/ briff narra- tive of my life. And I hope that the memory of the writer and the patience of the reader may not liave been taxed in vain. A FOREMAST HA.ND. To ke continued. MY SAILOR BOY. BY MARY S. B. DANA. " THK storm is loud, the waves run hijjh, Ami clouds have darkened all the sky; O God ! my heart, is full of jrrief, IN'ow hear my prayer and send relief; It'thou hut whisper, ' Peace, lie still,' The winds and waves obey thy will ; Thou art the source of every joy: God ! protect my sailor boy ! " When storms arise, how can I sleep 1 My sailor boy is on the deep ! 1 know thy never sleeping t-y:, Great God ' is watching i'rom on high: Thou only canst the storm control, On this Ml rest my troubled soul ; Thou art the source of every joy : O God ! protect my sailor boy ! r Amid the tempest's awful roar, Great God ! the sailor feels thy power j Whrn ocean storm.-- shall rnase to ra^e, Still ma\ thy power hia th nights engage, INCIDENTS IN A SAILOR'S LIFE. 15ft Prom every refuge may he flee Till he has made a friend ofniKE: Thou art the source of evi-ry joy : O God ! protect rny sailor boy ! " My Father, shall I ask in vain? Wilt thou my humble prayers disdain 1 no ! thy kind Almighty arm Will keep my sailor boy from harm; 1 know thou'lt hear my earnest plea, I'll leave my sailor boy with thee; O God! thou source of every joy, Protect and save my sailor boy ! Charleston, May 31, 1843. Sailor's Migizint. INCIDENTS IN A SAILOR'S LIFE. ADDRESSED TO SEAMEN. (Concluded.) Lafijette College., August 17, 1834. A FEW weeks after I joined the Mariner's Church ; I shipped, together with two other seamen, on board the schooner E. e. bound to Santa Cruz, in the West Indies ; but previous to signing the articles, we requested the captain to allow us time for prayer, to which he consented, although not a professor of religion. On that voyage there was heard no cursing in the forecastle, neither was there any rum drank there. I cannot say as much of the after end of the vessel. The captain would rip out an oath sometimes, and the mate also. On one occasion the captain, after having given way to his spleen in a burst of profanity, turned to a pious sailor who was standing at the wheel, and remarked that he had been enabled to leave off swearing, in some measure, since we came on board his vessel,' and that he hoped to be entirely cured 160 INCIDENTS IN A SAILOR'S LIFE. before he parted with us : the same influence, 1 trust, governed the remainder of the crew. As soon as we arrived at Santa Cruz, I sought out the church, and found many of the friends of Christ. who invited me to bring my shipmates on shore to visit them on their plantations, (for the most of them were planters,) and sent their carriage to the wharf in the evening, to convey us to them as soon as the labors of the day were over. I then saw that the sailor was respected, and longed for the day to arrive, when all the sons of the Great Deep >shaJ be known in foreign lands as the " Sons of God." One of the planters whom we visited, had con verted his still-room into a school-room ; had ban ished alchohol from his premises, and given all his slaves one day in the week to dispose of their pro- duce, so that they might keep holy the Sabbath day to the Lord. He called his slaves together, and requested us to address them, which we wil- lingly did for Christ's sake. On the whole, our company was sought, rather than shunned, by the most influential persons on the Island. I have not made mention of this for the purpose of taking the glory to ourselves ; but to set forth the goodness of God, as well as to show that the sailor will soon be lifted up I'rom the level of the brute creation (where the intoxicating bowl and the "strange wo- man" have brought him), to that of mediocrity at least. And the sailor's energetic spirit will not suffer him to stop there, but will cause him to as- pire even higher among the inhabitants of the civ ilized globe. In this, too, the mercy of our God is strikingly manifest, even in the stretching of his hand to those who had s~) long been neglected and given up of men. INCIDENTS IN A SAILOR'S LIFE. 161 While lying there, I was deeply impressed with the belief, tbat it was my duty to prepare for tha holy ministry. This, at first sight, appeared a task altogether impossible. I had spent all my money in " riotous living," and was therefore unwilling to in- dulge a hope, that I should ever attain to so high arid holy an office ; still the same feelings seemed to pervade my mind night and day. and gave me no rest. Sometimes I imagined that it was the workings of the evil one, making me desirous of being seen in the world, and I prayeJ the Lord to drive such thoughts away from me, and let them perish where they had their birth, unless they were sent from on high, to spur me forward in my duty ; and if the latter was the case, that he would point out a way for the accomplishment of what appeared to me so gigantic an undertaking. After s.ome struggles on my part. I came to the determination to adopt the following resolutions, viz. : first, that I would make it the subject of earnest prayer ; and secondly, that I would not seek it myself, lest I should be seeking material to feed my own ambition and self-esteem. I began to carry out these resolutions ; and on one occa- sion, after reading a tract pertaining somewhat to the subject which had been engrossing my mind so long, I felt a powerful visitation of the Spirit of God. I fell upon my knees, but was speechless for some seconds at tlie thought of my own uuwor- thiucss. and God's abundant goodness. At length the power of speech returned, and my soul waa drawn out in prayer, after which I arose from my knees in fall assurance that I should one day be permitted to stand between the living and the dead, and proclaim the glad news of salvation through a Redeemer. I continued in prayer fur special guid 14* I(j'2 INCIDENTS IN A SAILOR'S L FE. ance in this affair all the passage from Santa Crui to Philadelphia, and on my arrival I jumped into the boat, and went ashore with the captain be- fore the vessel had time to haul into the wharf. Directly I landed, I left the boat and ran up to the Sailor's Home, and from that to my pastor's house, where, before twenty minutes had elapsed, sufficient was said to prove to me that the way was opened for me to prepare for the holy ministry, without any seeking on my part whatever. To the liev. O. Douglass, pastor of the Mariner's Church, Philadelphia, (through grace,) I am deeply indebted for the privilege which I now enjoy even that of preparing to become a laborer in the vineyard of the Lord ; my highest aim now is to spend the remaining days of my pilgrimage on the earth in the service of the Lord, in such a manner RS he may deem most subservient to the spreading jf the Gospel of Christ among the long-neglected sons of the great deep. Now, my readers, since you have been shown in this brief narrative of facts, a few of the wondrous dealings of the Lord with one of the most unwor- thy of his rebellious creatures, see if you cannot, from the commencement of my course until this hour, trace the finger of Omnipotence in every step that has been taken. Surely you can ! and will cay with me, " This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes." A few words with you, and I have done. Have you found the " pearl of great price V' Have you chosen the " good part that cannot be takeii away <"' Do you love the Saviour, and delight iu his glori ous Gospel? If you can answer these ijuestions in the affirmative, 'tis well ! press towards the mark foi the prize, bearing in mind that it is at the end INCIDENTS IN A SAILOR'S LIFE. 163 of the race. If not; oh. '-'seek the Saviour new while he may be found ; and call upon him while he is near !" For, rest assured that, whoever you may be. and whatever your occupation in this world, you are not excluded from the law of God, nor, if you break that law, will you be excluded from its punishment hereafter. Now. a word to the sailor who is yet in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity ; who is still tossed about on life's troubled ocean, without a hope to buoy up his soul when the final storm oi God's wrath shall break upon our guilty world. If this should meet the eye of such an one (as I hope it will), to him 1 would say, Shipmate! you and I are bound on the voyage of life ; we are sail- ing fast to the shores of eternity, and are daily drawing nearer to our port. You have a precious and immortal soul as well as myself. a soul that must live even after the sun has refused to shed his glorious light, and every star in the bright fir- mament of heaven is blasted out. When the things of earth have every one sunk into oblivion, your soul and mine will both be sensitive, either of the bliss of heaven, or the excruciating tortures of a guilty conscience in the shades of endless woe. Which condition will entirely depend on the course they steer while here in a probationary state. Think you. that while you keep your helm up, and steer broad off for the gulf of perdition, while you continue to drive carelessly on. and let the treacherous stream hurry you to the whirlpool of despair. while you arc reproaching and reviling the more cautious mariner, who. having discovered his danger, and prudently hauled his wind, may now be seen cautiously standing in for the head lands of hore, with the cross of Christ for his guid 164 INCIDENTS ij* A SAILOR'S LIFE. ing star, the Saviour for his pilot, and the Bibla for his chart that you can be happy? ! Tis im- possible ! Look around you, my friend, and you will find, that while you are nearing destruction's dangerous brink, some of the very persons who were of your convoy, are even now spreading the sails of their affections to catch the breeze of divine grace, that they may be wafted towards the haven of eternal rest. The same privileges await you the same breezes invite you to those celestial abodes of everlasting 1 bliss. Say, then ! will you any longer delay ? will you stand on. in spite of the warnings of God'? word, and the admonitions of kind friends, and make shipwreck of your precious and immortal soul, rather than anchor forever in the calm ocean of God's love 'I If you will, I beg you to remem- ber that, " He that is often reproved, and harden- eth his neck ; shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy/' " The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." Oh, my friend ! take the advice of one whose expe- rience has made him acquainted with your ex- treme danger. Oh ! delay not another moment ; but down with your helm instantly. Heave about you quick, while you have sea-room ; for, if you miss stays, your destruction will be inevitable you must be irretrievably and irrecoverably lost. How will you decide ? Time speeds on his course, and there is but one alternative, heaven or hell hap- piness or woe ! Choose before it be everlastingly too late. Oh. let me entreat you to embrace the opportunity now, while the angels cf heaven are waiting to convey the glad tidings to the throne, that another sinner has been reclaimed that an- other soul has been redeemed from the galling w* PRISONER'S ADDRESS TO HIS MOTHER. 165 yoke of sin. I could bring you a whole cargo of reasons why you should cling to the cross now but sufficient has been said already to tire your patience, I am afraid. I will, therefore, close by saying, if you refuse the heavenly message, and are lost, you cannot say that your blood is on the skirts of my garment. Farewell! Let us " strive" to meet each other on the shores of the heavenly Canaan, where we may dwell forever with our bles- sed Redeemer, for his name's sake. Amen. A FOREMAST HANP THE PRISONER'S ADDRESS TO HIS MOTHER I'VE wandered far from thee, mother, Far from our happy home ; I've left tue lend that gave me birth, In other climes to roam ; And Time, since then, has rolled his years, And marked them on my brow ; Yet still I often thought of thee, I'm thinking of thee now. " I'm thinking of those days, mother, When with such earnest pride, You watched the dawnings of my youth, And pressed me to your side ; Then love nad filled my trusting heart With hopes of future joy, And thy bright fancy honors wove To deck thy ' darling boy.' 1 I'm thinking on the day, mother, I left thy watchful care, When thy fond heart was lifted up To heaven tfiy trust was there ; And memory brings thy parting word*, \\ hcai tours ft- 11 o'er thy cheek; But thj last, loving, anxious look Told uor< than words co'ild speak. !06 IHE PRISONER'S ADDRESS 10 ins MOIEXK. '"' i'm far away from thee, mother, No friend is near me now, To soothe me with a tender word, Nor cool my burning brow ; The dearest ties affection wove Are all now torn from me ; They left me when the trouble came, They did not love like thee. * I would not have thee know, mother, How brightest hopes decay, The tempter with his baneful cup, Has dashed them all away ; And shame has left his venomed sting To rack with anguish wild ! 'Twould grieve thy tender breast to know The sorrows of thy child ! ' I'm lonely and forsaken now, Unpitied and unblest ; Yet still T would not have thee know H ow sadly I'm distressed ; I know thou wouldst not chide me, Thou wouldst not give me pain, But cheer me with thy softest word*, And bid me hope again. " I know thy tender heart, mother, Still beats as warm for me, As when I left thee long ago, To cross the broad blue sea ; And 1 love thee just the same, mother. And I long to hear thee speak, And feel again thy balmy breath Upon thy cure-worn cheek. '* But ah ! there is a thought, mother. Pervades my beating breast, That thy free spirit may have flown To its eternal rest ; And as I wipe the tear away, There whispers in my ear, A voice that speaks of heaven and rim. And bids me seek Uiee there ." Washington, Jun tj, 1847. C. EL THE SAILOR KNEELING BV HIS CHEST. 16" THE SAILOR KNEELING BY HIS CHEST. " THE captain of the brig Ceres related the fol- lowing interesting fact. One of the apprentices on board of my vessel, a youth of bad character for swearing and profaning the name of God, after reading a tract called ' Serious thoughts on Eter- nity,' was observed several days by the mate to be very thoughtful and serious, and sighed at times us if something lay heavy on his mind. The mate asked him what caused him to look so sorrowful? ' Ah ! Mr. , eternity ! eternity ! that awful word rings in my ears all day. and all night too. What will become of me in eternity ?' The mate observed, he was but a poor hand to speak to the lad on religious feelings, being but very little ac- quainted with them ; but said, ' You have been a wicked lad ; but if you pray to God he may have mercy. Do your duty, and refrain from swearinar ; and read good books, and particularly the Bible.' He would, after this, often be seen, when ship's duty did not interfere, leaning over the gunwale of the vessel, evidently at prayer. The scoffs and jeers of the men. on account of his seriousness and dejection, and when reading the Bible, would not shake him from his stability. " He had a soul to be saved ; the work was ol God ; and by the assistance of his Holy Spirit, he bore all. determined to secure an earnest of a bliss- ful eternity. On one occasion, seeking to avoid the scoffs of the crew, he crept, (as he thought, unper ceived.) down the fore-hatch, and knelt down lean ing over the chest of one of the men in prayer. The man to whom the chest belonged, having seer him. as he said, go down with a suspicious appear fcnce, waited a few seconds, followed him, and ece 168 EXTRACT FROM A CAPTA N S DIAHT ing him by his chest, dragged him on deck, and, with oaths, declare.! he was opening his chest tfl rob him. The boy denied the accusation. The bustle this contest caused brought the mate for- ward to inquire the reason. The man accused ; the boy denied. The mate, feeling in favor of the lad. and supposing some religious cause for his be- ing thus found, encouraged him to explain. The boy, bursting into tears, answered, ' I was trying to do what my accuser ought to do ; / was kneeling against his chest in prayer.' The man was so struck by the boy's manner of confession, and the sincerity of his looks, that he replied in a softened tone-, ' Why did you not say so at first ?' ' Be- 3ause,' the boy answered, ' I thought you would sneer and ridicule me.' 'No, far from it, I will never ridicule you again : and will, as far as I can, prevent your being so. I sincerely believe you in- nocent ; and when you pray again, remember me. The boy continued to hold fast his faith ; he stood firm in his religious profession : and. on his return from his voyage, became a member of a Christian church in the west of England : and to this day. appears to adorn the profession he makes, devoting his best services to promote the glory of God." Liverpool. EXTRACT FROM A CAPTAIN'S DIARY. " LEFT port on the 1 9th of August. 30th. Cora, menced social worship on board in the evenings, passage out passage homeward, morning and even, ing. On the Sabbath day, the morning and even- ing sacrifices were offered up, and divine service EXTRACT FROM A CAPTAINS DiARY. 168 performed in the cabin in the afternoon, after the usual manner on shore. In the gale of the 28tb, when danger threatened us on every side, aud death was evidently near to us, our God wrought wonderfully for us, sparing our justly forfeited lives, with the exception of one of our crew ; teach- ing us a solemn lesson ' Be ye also ready.' " Sept. 6th. Was informed one of the crew was under deep conviction, and had been in tears all night. 1 observed the next day he appeared vei-y thoughtful, and his mind seemed softened with grief. previous to this he was an awful pro- fane swearer, and had not heard a prayer, or been inside a meeting-house for ten years. Judged it most prudent not to be too urgent in this affair, but rather to wait the issue, bearing in mind the words of Gamaliel ' Let this work alone, if it be of God, it will assuredly stand.' In the evening, brought into view the prodigal son, setting forth the ex- ceeding love and tender compassion of God our Saviour towards perishing sinners, who no sooner perceives the least relenting on the sinner's part, but he runs to meet him. The next day com- mented on first part of Luke, 15th, and thus con- tinued from time to time, introducing some por- tions of Scripture, as I thought (by the grace of God assisting), might be most proper on this oc- casion. " Sept. 9th. Opened a conference or free-meet- ing to be continued weekly, for all who chose to take part in the exercises. Acts 13th, was read as an introduction, showing the efficacy of prayer for Pe- ter while in prison : offered a petition to the throne of grace, and left the meeting open. One old sailor, who owned aud acknowledged the brig to have been his spiritual birth-place, spoke freely of 15 170 EXTRACT FROM A CAPTAIN'S DIARY. the love of God and of his hope in Christ, only 1* meriting how unprofitable a servant he had been, and how barren he still was ; but hoped that the in- stitution of this meeting would be profitable to his eoul. Another sailor then rose and spoke of the goodness of God in taking his feet from the horrible pit, and miry clay, and placing them upon the Rock Clirist praised his holy name for giving him so comfortable an assurance of his acceptance in Christ, and more particularly for casting his lot in a vessel where these things were attended to. One of the officers next rose, rejoicing in hope, praising God for his goodness to one who had resisted the influ- ence of the Spirit with all his might, but was now forced to bow to the sceptre of King Jesus : he then concluded with prayer. The hymn, ' Lord dismiss us with thy blessing,' was then sung, and the meeting closed with the apostolic benediction. The meeting to me was highly interesting, and there appeared a very great attention at all times to the religious exercises. As it respects the sailor under conviction, I inquired of one of his ship- mates (a pious sailor) what was his opinion as to his conduct in private : he answered me that the man seemed to be wrestling with God in prayer for mercy. Doddridge's ' Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul.' was given him to read, which he read through ; a Bible and Seaman's Devotional Assistant were given him, and he employed all his spare moments in searching the Scriptures of truth. Thus far he has continued steadfast, and appears to have taken a decided stand in the cause and in- terest of the blessed Redeemer. Our conference meetings were hailed with delight, and were pecul- iarly interesting our Sabbaths were quiet Sab baths, aud it did appear as if the Lord frequently THE FIRST BETHEL ON THE LAKES. 171 met -with us and smiled upon our feeble efforts. The signs of the times indicate that the Lord has already commenced a great work among us ; hia Spirit is striving with us, and may we not humbly rely on his promise, that in due time the abun dance of the sea shall be converted unto God ?" ' E'er since by faith I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply, Redeeming love, has been my theme, And shall be when I die." T. S. THE FIRST BETHEL ON THE LAKES. FROM THE LOG-BOOK OF ONE WHO HAS BEEN A SAILOU. " IT was a beautiful autumnal Sabbath morn, in 1830 not a cloud moved across the blue vault of heaven, the tranquil waters of Ontario lay un- dimpled and unmoved, for all was calm and peace- ful Sweet was the silence of that holy morning it was a type of that heavenly rest ! " The sun came out of his chamber in the east, rejoicing as a bridegroom to run his race, and as is customary on shipboard, the colors of the shipping were hoisted at that hour. What is that fl,ag yon- der ? It bears a strange emblem ! Inquiries were made by many, but few could satisfactorily answer. The Sabbath-school children observed it as they went to their morning school, and wondered. It was a novel thing to all, and all were surprised. It was not worn by a stranger's vessel. She wat> veil known. The silent air refused also to lift the folds of the flag, and what might be upon it was not fully seen. But at length the gentle breeze threw out the beautiful banner. It bore on its 172 A CHRISTIAN. chaste white ground a dove, having in its mouth, ai Scripture beautifully says, ' an olive leaf p'ncfad off} and the cheering inscription, k BETHEL !' How eweet is the retrospect of that morning. How good God was to let that happv ensign be unfurled under such circumstances. How did the hep.rt^-wsA with hope of better times, and how delightful it was to go away and thank the God of Bethel for such a token of mercy ! ' The day passed on, and just at eventide the multitude flocked to the vessel's side. Three schooners were laid abreast of tach other, which, with the adjacent extensive wharf, were crowded with persons of all ages. A solemn pause ensued ! Angels looked down, and God looked down, and the hearts of the pious looked up, and met their gaze by faith. The silence was broken by that cheer- ing seamen's hymn, each stanza ending with ' Sailor ! there's Iwpe for the.' The strains passed away, but not without effect, for they called tears to many a furrowed cheek of landsman and seaman. Prayer was offered and exhortation given, and the Bethel mooting on board 'the Winnebago' the. first on the western in- land waters has never been forgotten. Great mercies have since descended upon seamen, and well may it be said of Lake Ontario ; The voice of t/ie Lord is upon the waters? I. T. M." A CHRISTIAN. A CHRISTIAN is one who is snatched as a brand from the burning the flames of hell are quenched A SAILOR'S PRAYE?.. 173 in the Redeemer's blood : he is grafted into tke living vine : because it lives, he lives also, deriving from the union strength and nourishment ; he be- comes a fruitful bough by the wells of salvation, whose branches, thick with clusters of good fruits, adorn the wall of God's house. Are you, reader, a fruitful branch in this living vine ? do you know what this union means 1 if so, happy are you. Study to show forth the praises of Him who hath thus had mercy on you ; but remember, that on those who know not the nature of this union, God will rain storms, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest this shall be the portion of their cup. But, oh ! fly sinner, fly to the Lamb of God ; he takoth away the sin of the world. Come guilty, come neeay, come just as you are. ' All the fitnesa he requireth, is to feel your need of him !' Come now in this accepted time, and be assured he will nowise cast you out." A SAILOR'S PRAYER. " FATHKR, the storm is loud ! No light beams on our way, Save when o'er yonder cloud The fearful lightnings play. The frowning heavens above ! The yawning deeps helow ! Far, FAR are those wo Jove; Where can the sailor go 1 u Father, to thce we turn ! God of the earth and sea ! When sad our bosoms yearn, Our fears are known to theo! Oh ! let thine eye of love Beam through the aogry storm, And hope sent from above, Appear in dove-like form ! 15* 174 THE UNSATISFYING NATTTRX 11 Thy breath can 'calm the sea, Thy voice, the tempest's rage, So can thy PKACE within Our rising; fears assuage. Father, to thee we cry ! God >f the earth and sea ! No other aid is nigh Our hopes repose on thee !" C4r. Gfa. 2. M A_ THE UNSATISFYING NATURE OF WORLDLY GOOD. "Vanity of vanities saith the preacher, vanity of vanities; all ii vanity. ECCLKS. i. 2. " ECCLESIASTES is the Greek title of the book ; the title which it bears in the Septuagint. It sig- nifies, THE PREACHER. The Hebrew word for which it is used, means, one who assembles, or gathers the people together ; ard the translation of it by the term Ecdesiaslcs. shows that the Greek translators understood the object of the assem- bling to be, the communication of public instruc- tion. " The preacher was the ' Son of David.' To him had been addressed, by his pious and affec- tionate father, the solemn charge, equally melting and alarming : ' And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind ; for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts : If thou seek him he will be found of thee : but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee ofl' forever. 1 It was in oppo- sition to this paternal counsel that lie had gone astray ; and possibly the tender recollection of it, brought home to the heart by the events of I'rovi OF WORLDLY GOOD. 175 a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul '? For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father, and with his an gels ; and then shall he reward every man accord ing to his works.' ' What profit ' shall a man tken have, ' of all his labor which he hath taken un der the sun T The favor of God ; the love of Christ ; the blessing of Heaven, mingling with all the good and evil of life, enhancing the one, and sweetening and sanctifying the other ; the ' ex ceeding great and precious promises' of ' the life that now is, and of that which is to come,' the faith of which inspires k the peace which passetb all understanding ;' the spiritual joy of ' fellow- ship with the Father, and his Son Jesus Christ, 1 and with the children of God. the excellent of the earth ; and the blessed hope of eternal life, of glory and honor, and immortality : these are sour- ces of felicity, worthy of your rational and immor tal natures, pure and dignified, substantial and ever- lasting. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; com* to God in his name : accept the mercy offered, through his mediation, in the Gospel : and all these blessings, in time and eternity shall be yours Warcttaw on UCSB LIBRARY V A 000604199 o