THis Psalm hath been interpreted by some, August. Enarr. in hunc Psal. as if it were one intire Allegory: The four Temporal Calamities mentioned here, denoting so many Spiritual Punishments, or Troubles upon the Mind. The Want and Wand'ring in the Wilderness, V. 3-8. figuring Mens Errors and Ignorance of the right way to their Heavenly Country: V. 10-15. The Captivity and Ex­ile, those Difficulties in doing well, with which long offending does, as it were, V. 17-22. clog and fetter har­d'ned and habitual Sinners: the Sickness and want of Appetite, resembling that general disrelish to Vir­tue, and the things of God and Eternity, which at­tends a carnal Life, and worldly Disposition: V. 23-31. And the Storms and Dangers at Sea made use of as a fit Emblem for the Trials and Tossings of a boisterous World, particularly for the Persecutions of Good Men and the Truth: And since from all these things too God in his Mercy delivers Men upon their ear­nest [Page 2]Application to him, therefore David calls upon all those for their Sacrifice of Thanks and Praise, who have at any time receiv'd such valuable Blessings.

Others there are, Chryso­stom. Hie­ronym. who have thought this a Pro­phecy of the Gospel-Age; and, that by the Men in my Text particularly, who go down to the Sea in Ships, and do business in great Waters, are meant those Apo­stles of our Blessed Saviour, who, from the Trade of Fishermen, were chosen to be Preachers of the Christian Faith: That these Men saw the Works of the Lord, and his Wonders in the Deep, when God reveal'd to them the profound Mysteries of the New Cove­nant: Such as the Redemption of Mankind by a crucified Jesus, the Trinity of Persons in the Divine Essence, (which the Church, at this Season more e­specially, adores) and sundry other Doctrines of our most Holy Religion, which no reach of humane Reasoning can fathom, no Wit could have discove­red, had not God's own Spirit led Men into the Knowledge and Belief of them.

But, waving these more distant Constructions, I shall keep close to that most obvious and natural one, which the Psalmist seems to have had first, if not only, in his view: And that is, from a Conside­ration of the several Events of humane Life, whe­ther they be prosperous or adverse, whether private or publick, to awaken and stir Men up to a remem­brance of God and their Duty. For, that such was his Design, seems abundantly manifest from that re­markable [Page 3]Conclusion of the Psalm (V. 43.) Whoso is wise will observe these things, and they shall understand the Loving Kindness of the Lord.

Now, though such a wise Observation be, no doubt, intended here, as, by convincing Men, that all these things are ordered by the Providence of God, might be a powerful Motive to the discharge of every part of their Duty; yet the Effect of it principally aimed at, is Thanksgiving; Publishing the Praises of that God for his Goodness, and declaring the Wonders that he doth for the Children of Men. V. 8 V. [...] V. 2 V. 3 This is the Exhortation so often repeated, and so earnestly inculcated here, and urged from a Recollection of the many Affli­ctions and sore Distresses, out of which the Great Governor of the World, who disposes our For­tunes of every kind, rescues them, who in Extremi­ty flee to Him for Refuge. This Acknowledg­ment he calls upon all People to pay; because the Instances of the Divine Goodness are so many, so conspicuous, that it must argue great Inadvertency, not to see, and reflect upon them, when they hap­pen to Others: But this he requires in a peculiar manner from Them, who have had Experience of that Goodness themselves. For, if the eminent Proofs of such a Providence ought, and will natu­rally not fail, to move us, when we are meer Stan­ders by, and Spectators only; it must certainly betray a very wretched degree of Stupidity, and a horrible Unworthiness, for Men to continue in­grateful [Page 4]and insensible, who have personally felt and tasted that the Lord is gracious: For such to re­tain no becoming Impressions, no religious Re­membrances, of either those amazing Dangers, or those seasonable and wonderful Preservations, which have been brought home to them, and made their own Case.

Again, if barren Desarts, and dark Prisons; if Beds of Languishing and Storms at Sea, do, by an almost irresistible Necessity, drive the profanest and most profligate Wretches to their Prayers: and, if, V. 5.13, 19, 28. when such as these cry unto the Lord in their trouble, he do not disdain to hear, and deliver them out of their distress; What can excuse those Vagabonds and Captives, those once sick, and just sinking Men, if they shall not be as liberal and as loud in their Praises afterwards, as formerly they were in their Calls and Complaints; if they shall neglect to testi­fie before all the World, that they look upon God as their Saviour and mighty. Deliverer, and own their present Safety and Successes to be entirely the Work of a Wise, and Kind, and Omnipotent Providence?

This is evidently the Sum of the Prophet's Argu­ment in the Psalm before us: The Force whereof might without great difficulty be illustrated from any of the Cases specified in it; but from never a one of them, I think, to better advantage, than that to which my Text, and the Quality of this [Page 5]Audience and Solemnity, now determine me. For if there be any sort of People, who have not only observed, but perpetually conversed with, invin­cible demonstrations of a God and Providence; if any, whose Obligations to Religion and Thankful­ness are more sensible, more indispensable, than those of Common Men, where may we reasona­bly expect to find these, rather than among them; who go down to the Sea in Ships and do business in great Waters, who in so signal a manner see the VVorks of the Lord, and his VVonders in the Deep?

The Persons spoken of in my Text, are not they who make Vorages or Pleasure or Convenience, but such as make the Sea their Occupation, and con­stant way of living. And to these I shall direct my Discourse at present, by treating of the Words, and the thing intended by them, under the Two fol­lowing Heads.

I. First, I shall endeavour, I will not say, to in­form, (for who can fairly be supposd ignorant of so obvious and evident a Truth?) but rather to put such in remembrance, that the Dangers and Deliverances peculiar to this course of Life, are the Effects of a Divine Providence. And then, Secondly,

II. I shall shew what Influence this Considera­tion ought to have upon all, who have had the [Page 6]Experience of such a watchful and powerful Pro­vidence over them.

I. First, I say, the Dangers and Deliverances proper to a Sea-faring Life are eminently the Ef­fects of a Divine Providence. The same Reason, which convinces every thinking Man, that this ma­terial World, and each part of it, must needs have been framed by some Eternal and Infinite Being, will, when pursued through its just Consequences, teach us to conclude also, that these things now can no more govern and preserve themselves, than they could originally make themselves. The wond'rous Order and regular Process, observable in Natural Causes and Effects, do indeed illustrate the Wisdom and Management; but they do by no means wea­ken the Belief, or take away the Necessity, of a Higher and Super-intending Power. For, that these lower Agents do in most Cases operate alike, proves them to be confined to Rule and Method; but, that they do not always produce the same Ef­fects, is no less an Evidence, that they are under the direction of a Supreme Cause, which checks, and limits, and over-rules their Influences, as he sees fit. Thus both the regular and the excepted Cases conspire to prove the Being and Providence of God. Since there is in all the Works of Nature so much Constancy, as argues the World to be go­vern'd by an intelligent Being; and yet so much [Page 7]variety in Events, and so surprizing Changes too, as evidence that Being to be an Agent free in his De­terminations, and absolute in his Dominion; that none of the most uniform Productions are fixed by a fatal Necessity; none of the most efficacious Means so sure of succeeding, as never to be put by their ordinary Course; none, in a word, exempted from the Countermand of his Disposal.

We shall do well then to conceive of Almighty God, as of a wise and watchful Pilot, always at the Helm, and steering his own World, taking the ad­vantage of natural Instruments, and letting this great Vessel drive before them, so long as these, like prosperous Gales and favourable Tides, make way for his good Purposes: But when they bear down hard, and grow too violent, then interposing his Skill and Strength, shifting the Course, or check­ing the Current, or by some other Arts to us un­known, bringing the most furious, the most irre­sistible Efforts of Created Nature in Subjection to the Counsel of his own Will.

And if this be, as certainly it is, the State of Pro­vidence, and the World in general, then, where these Interpositions are most frequent and visible; where such Agents and Causes, as seem most un­governable, do yet submit to such Restraints, and become flexible and useful; where Humane Mea­sures, which can only proceed upon regular and or­dinary Operations, are most impotent, and mani­festly [Page 8]at a loss; there we cannot, with any fair and probable Reasoning, but ascribe such Events, as are contrary to, or above the reach of, Matter and Motion, to the marvelous Address and command­ing Efficacy of that wise and powerful Lord, Psal. 103.19. who (as this Psalmist says elsewhere) sitteth in the Hea­vens, and ruleth over all from the beginning.

Upon this Account, we may very well ima­gine, it is, that the Scripture does, upon all occa­sions, take such particular Care to assert and incul­cate that Government which God exercises over the Winds and the [...]eas: For these are parts of Nature, fierce and impetuous above the rest, various and uncertain in their Motions; the most unaccountable, the most unmanageable, of all the Creatures in this lower World; and, by consequence, the most pregnant Testimonies of an over-ruling Providence, in all those asto­nishing and mighty Alterations, which we so frequently perceive in them. Hence God is said to Jer. 5.22. set bounds to the Sea, Hag. 2.7. to shake it, Job 38.8. to shut it up with doors; to Isai. 50.2 dry it up, to Nah. 1.4. rebuke it, to still Psal. 89.8.65.7. its roarings, and silence the noise of its waves when they rebel; and that, Psal. 93.5. though its waters be mad, and rage horribly, yet still the Lord who dwelleth on high is mightier. So again, the Winds are very empha­tically stiled the Psal. 148.8. Winds of God, and the Job 37.9.10. Breath of God; with these he is said to blow, and the wa­ters swell; These Psal. [...]35.7. he brings out of his Treasures; [Page 9]with these he Psal. 29. and 148. rends the Mountains, scatters his Cold and Frost, Job 37.10.straitens the Waters, and hardens them like solid Metal. And farther yet, for these he is said to make Job 28.25 Weights and Measures, to Isa. 27.8. stay their roughest and most tumultuous Insults, quell all their boisterous Rage, and with a Peace be still, hush their Noise and Confusion into a profound Calm. And, to go no farther than this Passage now before us; the Works and Wonders here ascrib'd to God, are expressed (V. 25, &c.) by the Storm arising at his Word, the Waves of the Sea rolling and foaming, tossing Men up to Heaven, and sinking them down again to Hell; driving them to their Wits end, and damping the very stoutest of them all; and yet, e­ven then, when neither Courage nor Conduct, neither Hearts nor Hands are of any longer Service, God continues the same still: He is not deaf to Men's Prayers; nor are these rudest and most rug­ged of all Elements deaf to his Reproofs, but even the Storms fulfill his Word, and blow but by Com­mission: He finds no difficulty in quieting the Tempest, and smoothing the Face of the Deep; but raises and instantly fixes the hearts melted down with Anguish and Despair just before, and makes them glad by setting them at rest, Ver. 30.and bringing them to the Haven, where they would be. This gets him an indisputable Title to such Men's Praises; The suc­couring them in an Extremity, when humane helps could avail nothing, when even Hope it self was [Page 10]lost, when any Power less than divine must have been defeated in the Attempt to deliver them.

But in all Cases of this Nature, it is not enough to be satisfied that God is the Doer and Disposer of them, unless we be likewise careful to observe with what design he does them, and what those Purpo­ses are, which he would have served, by the hard­ships we sustain, the dangers we are threat'ned with, and the surprizing Rescues from, or Succes­ses after them.

Now, though we are not allow'd to judge of the Proportion of any Man's Virtue or Guilt, or God's Love or Hatred toward him, by that mea­sure of Good or Evil, which befals him in this pre­sent Life: Yet thus much in the general is true, that all Afflictions are, and ought to be received, as Chastisements of Sin, and all Deliverances ac­knowledged as Marks of God's Favour and Kind­ness. Blessings, 'tis true, may by our own Mis­management be converted into Curses and Instru­ments of Ruine: And Sufferings, by a prudent Virtue, may be exalted into the most valuable Mercies. The former may be plentifully impar­ted to the Wicked, and the latter made the Portion of the Just: But still this hinders not, why, speaking of these Dispensations at large, the Psalmist here, and we by his Example, may not attribute Mens Calamities to their Faults which had provoked God; and their better Successes to some behaviour [Page 11]well-pleasing in his sight. V. 9.10. Thus we find Mens being bound in Affliction and Iron, charged upon their rebelling against the Words of God, and contemning the Counsel of the most High. And Fools are said, because of their Trans­gression to be plagued with Sickness,V. 17, &c.to abhor all manner of Meat, and to draw nigh to the Gates of Death.

It is confest, that no such Cause is positively assigned here; but sure there is nothing particular in the rea­son of the thing, which should forbid us applying it to Storms and Shipwrecks, as well as to Imprisonment and Bodily Diseases. But in the Mercies mentioned throughout this Psalm, there is no Place for probable Conjectures; for in every one of these, express No­tice is taken of its being a Reward to them, who fled to God for Succour, and took Sanctuary in Him, when other Helps and Comforts had forsaken them. And hence the Duty of Praise is urged as a necessary Instance of Gratitude, for so ready an Acceptance, so successful a Return, of such Prayers: For that you see is the constant burthen of this Holy Song; When they cried unto the Lord in their Trouble, V. 8.13.15, 19, 21, 28, 31.and he delivered them out of their Distress: O that Men would therefore praise the Lord for his Goodness, and de­clare the Wonders that he doth for the Children of Men.

Without entring then into any Niceties concerning this Matter, or shewing how far temporal Good and Evil are from distinguishing Characters of the Di­vine Affection and Displeasure, though at the same time the One be most truly the Effect of God's [Page 12]Goodness, and the Other of Man's Sin; I shall take it for granted, that all who consider the different Events of humane Life to be the Work of God, do likewise allow them to be wrought with some wise Design; and that each sort requires some Use and Improvement to be made of it, in proportion to its Nature and Quality: And thus much is sufficient to ground my other general Head upon, wherein I proposed to shew,

II. Secondly, What Influence the Consideration of Mens Dangers and Deliverances being all from God, ought to have upon Them, whose own Ex­perience hath convinced them of such a watchful and powerful Providence; such, as is over those particularly, who by going down to the Sea in Ships, and following their business in great Waters, have seen the Works of the Lord, and his Wonders in the Deep.

The only Fruit insisted on here is Thankfulness; nor had the Prophet occasion to demand more; for this alone, when rightly grounded, and diligently cultivated, is so noble a Product, and of so large Extent, that, as to be reproached with Unthank­fulness is a Character of universal Infamy; so to be truly thankful for the Mercies of God, is, in the just Latitude of the Word, but another Name for a Good Man, and a Good Christian. For

1. No Man doubts, but this implies never dying Remembrances, and very warm and affe­ctionate Resentments of the Benefits we have re­ceived. [Page 13]And, in regard that out of such abundance of the Heart the Mouth will naturally speak, from hence will follow,

2. Free and publick Declarations of God's Love and Mercy upon all fit Occasions. Nor yet only so, but

3. A constant Care not to displease or affront One, who hath been so bountiful to, and tender of Us. For to profess grateful Resentments, without attesting to them by respectful Behaviour, is mani­fest Insincerity; and to proclaim our Obligations to a Person, whom we disoblige in return, is to re­proach our selves with the greatest Baseness, and to publish our Hypocrisy to all the World. Nay,

4. True Gratitude will think it self concerned to vindicate the Honour, and promote the Advantage, of its Benefactor. And That which is so toward God, will study to advance his Glory; and by Ex­ample, Perswasion, or such other Methods, as the Person's Circumstances qualify him for, will labour to gain over others to a reverent and just Opinion of Him, and of that Religion, which he is pleased in condescension to call his Cause and Interest, and the doing him Service.

5. A Man truly Thankful for Succours received heretofore, will, with great Contentedness and a chearful Faith, depend upon God in any Distresses for the time to come. Even our Friends upon Earth take it ill to be distrusted, who yet have little in [Page 14]their Power, and but seldom very much in their Will. But what can be a greater Indignity, than to suspect the Care, or be uneasy under the Con­duct, of that Friend above, who cannot deceive, who will not forsake us; especially after many sen­sible and surprising Experiments, both of his Incli­nation, and his Ability, to do us good?

6. Lastly, They who are Thankful for past De­liverances, will be compassionate to others in the like Danger and Distress. The Remembrance of their own Case will dispose them to this Tender­ness, as Men; and, as Christians, they will need no other Incitement, than this single Reflection, That they who relieve the least of their Lord's Members, do it to Himself. So that This is in ef­fect a paying back the Kindness; a Thing which true Gratitude eagerly takes all Opportunities of do­ing. And, though the Return be not made, either in Kind, or in Quantity, yet it is such as poor Mortals are capable of; such as argues their Wishes and Rea­diness to do more; and such as He, whose Debtors they are, is content to accept for good Payment.

These are all so genuine, so necessary Evidences of Thankfulness; and the Reasonableness of them is so obvious, that I shall not hold my self obliged to enlarge upon our Engagements to them. No Benefactor among Men looks upon himself well treated upon other Terms; and he, who declines any of these upon proper Occasions, all his dissem­bled [Page 15]Professions ought, and will be sure with Wise­men, to go for nothing. And therefore all I shall do more, is only to apply my self to this Assembly, with regard to each of the foregoing Particulars, and so conclude.

1. First then: For the begetting in you becom­ing Resentments for the Mercies of God in your Pre­servation, I shall not, I need not, attempt any ar­tificial Description of the infinite Hazards, or sur­prizing Providences, peculiar to that manner of Life, in which the Education and Affairs of so many now before me have engaged them: The Won­ders and the Works of Wisdom, which conversing with remote Countries hath made you Eye-witnes­ses of; nor the Difficulties and sundry kinds of Death, which distant Climates, and especially your Passage to and from them, have so often exposed you to. You know very well, that the Terrours of a Storm, or a Wreck, are but feebly represented by Words; and that Experience leaves behind it more lively and lasting Images of this kind, than all the laboured Rhetorick in the World. The An­cients seem to have so just a Notion of this Matter, as to make it almost a Proverb, O fortuna te nescis quantum periculi praeterie­ris, qui nunquan [...] es ingres­sus Mare. That He who hath never been at Sea, can scarcely know what it is to be in Danger. And then surely They who have known, and felt, and lived constantly in, and often escaped from This; This, in comparison whereof nothing it seems was esteemed dreadful enough to deserve the Name [Page 16]of Danger, these Men cannot easily be supposed e­ver to forget it.

And yet it must be confess'd, with regard to Your Case, that those Ancients were but little, and the Age of David not at all, acquainted with the most formidable part of that, which Your good God hath carried You through. The only Perils They had in view, were such as grow from Winds, and Waves, and warring Elements: Nor were Men then aware of any other End of going down to the Sea in Ships, but that of doing the Business of Traffick there. And, What is the Fatigue, What the Hazard of This, when set against the very distant Uses which later Times have found for these Great Waters, and the fatal Improvement since made to the [...] Dangers? For, as if even the most merciless Parts of the Cre­ation had been too sparing and tender of our Safe­ty, the Men industrious in the Art of Killing, have brought the Two most cruel, the Two most di­stant [...]lements in the World, to conspire toge­ther, and mutually to assist in the more ef­fectual Destruction of Mankind. They have con­trived to burn one another in the Water, to drown their Enemies in liquid Fire, to turn their Vessels into floating Batteries, and make the Ocean itself a Field of Blood. It is in this most frightful Form, that several of You have often met Death: And shall I suppose it possible, that such complicated Horrours can ever slip out of your Minds? That [Page 17]you should not frequently and seriously recollect, who made so gracious a Distinction in the Day of Battle, when Thousands fell beside you, and Ten thousand at your Right-hand, and yet the fatal Ball came not nigh you? No, no. You stand here this Day so many living Monuments of Mercy, so many undeniable Demonstrations of a wonderful Provi­dence; and you must not, you cannot forget God, while you continue to remember your selves.

2. If then this be, as I ought to presume it is, the inward Sense of your Souls, your Obligations to the Second Thing are very apparent, That of making your Thanks solemn and publick. This the Pro­phet requires (Ver. 32.) that such as have escaped the Perils of the Sea, would exalt God in the Congre­gation of the People, and praise him in the Seat of the El­ders. His meaning is, That these open Acknow­ledgments are a Tribute due for Deliverances so eminent; because they set forth the Glory of God, they put others upon observing, how Wise, and Powerful, and Good he is, and encourage all that see and hear them, to serve and depend upon One so Able, so Ready, to help them that seek him. But there is yet another Reason, which should move Them to it, whose Lives have been exposed upon the publick Account: For it is no small Mercy, that God hath made Such, Instruments of a general Good to their Country. You therefore are bound, above all Men, to praise God in the Congregation of the [Page 18]People, because the whole Congregation will not fail to praise God, not only with you, but for you. If Trade flourish, and Wealth increase, it is be­cause Your Industry and Courage transplant the Product of distant Countries hither, and make all their Conveniencies ours. If this Island enjoy the Benefits of its happy Situation, it is because that Sea, which God hath made our Rampart and En­trenchment, hath been stoutly defended by our Navies: Without these, the Nation must be so far from rich and prosperous, that it could not so much as be safe. And that which renders us so useful to our Friends, so formidable to our Enemies, and so secure from Foreign Invasions, is not so much our Numbers, or our Home-growth, or our Wall of Waters; as the Advantages of our Commerce A­broad, and the invincible Valour of our Fleets at Home. This we justly esteem our proper Strength, and to it, under God, ascribe our Glory and Protection: And therefore They who do gallantly, and are suc­cessful upon these Occasions, are much to blame, if They do not publish the Praises of God, because they are sure to meet with so many disposed to join in those Praises with them. For such we pray and fast when in Action and Danger; and, in so doing, we pray and fast for our selves. And when such return with Victory or Peace, they engage us to come into their Thanks, not only as Christians, but as Parties; not out of Fellow-feeling, but Self-love. [Page 19]Their Interest and ours is one and the same; we all find a vast account in their Safety; and, in their Conquests and Deliverances, do in effect com­memorate our own.

3. But, Thirdly, They who have proceeded thus far, ought to be put in mind, that the most sub­stantial Part of Thankfulness is still behind; that, I mean, which consists in the Man's Actions and Be­haviour. For, as in such Benefactors among Men, whose Condition sets them so much above us, that they do not need, or we cannot repay what we have received from them, in kind, the only way left us to testifie our Gratitude, is by respecting, and plea­sing, and doing them Honour and Service; so, and much more is it, in the Benefits we receive from the Great and most High God. We are therefore taught in our excellent Liturgy to pray for such a due sense of his Mercies, as may make us unfeignedly thankful, General Thansgiv­ing. and prove that we are so, by shewing forth his Praise, not only with our Lips, but in our Lives. Now, if the bestowing Life and Being at first do vest in him a Title to our Obedience, then, so oft as this Gift is repeated, so much the more that Claim is strength­ned. The very Design, in truth, of all his Bles­sings is to invite, and encourage, and (by Engage­ments, the most forcible of any to an ingenuous Temper) even to constrain us to Virtue and Good­ness; to make us in love with so kind a Master, and chearful in doing our utmost for Him, who hath done [Page 20]so much for Us. And which way can We evade this Obligation, especially when the most we can do for him is so much less than his due, and the least he hath done for us so much more than our desert? After a long Recital of the many Miracles in behalf of the Israelites, God is said to have wrought them all for this very purpose, Psal. 15.14. that they might keep his Statutes, and observe his Laws. And in another Place, this is mention'd as the dreadfullest aggravation of that Peo­ples wickedness, that they forgot, and rebelled against God, Psal. 78.who had done so great things for them. But what need I urge Christian-Instances and Arguments, when nothing can be plainer from the very Nature of Gratitude, than that each Person ought to make his diligence in pleasing God hold proportion with the marks of his having been the peculiar Care of his Providence, and be as signally religious, as he hath been signally blessed?

If then, as was before observed, the Affairs of so many here present have been so full of hazard, and their Deliverances so full of wonder, it will lye upon their Consciences very seriously to examine, what sort of requital they have made for these Mercies. Most certain it is, God does not save Men from the Sea, and the Sword, that when they come ashore they may give themselves up to the Devil's Service, and walk before him without fear in Unholiness and Unrighteousness all the days of their life. He expects to have his Name called upon after another manner, than in Oaths, [Page 21]and Curses, and blasphemous Terms of Defiance and Contempt. He will account severely with those Wretches, who dare his Vengeance, and cry aloud to him to rot those Bodies, and to damn those Souls, which he with so Fatherly a Tenderness hath rescued from Destruction. My Design herein is not to upbraid, or accuse, but seasonably to warn, the Men of this Profession, that they wo [...]ld consider in time, how large an Article in their last great Ac­count the Good Providence of God over them in their Dangers and Necessities will one day make; and that it were better, infinitely better for them, to have fallen by the Enemies hand, or to have been drown'd in the depth of the Sea, than to have survi­ved both to no other Effect, than that most sad one of enflaming their Reckoning, and heating their Furnace seven times hotter, by their horrible Ingrati­tude and Abuse of such marvelous Loving Kindness.

4. But I said before, Fourthly, that a true Princi­ple of Thankfulness will not allow Men to be con­tented with their own private Virtue, but will render them zealous Promoters of God's Glory, by winning over others to his Service. The Methods and Op­portunities for effecting this differ greatly, accord­ing to Mens different Stations and Capacities in the World. But I esteem my self happy in addressing this day to several worthy Persons, whose Authori­ty and Posts of Command may be exceeding useful in this Particular: Persons, whose good Example [Page 22]may inspire, and whose Discipline may enforce, the Exercise of Religion; At least these could not fail to discountenance Vice, and give a check to the Inso­lence of open Immorality and Profaneness. You are, my Brethren, Men of Honour; and that Cha­racter will not endure, that your Prince, or your Friend should be ill treated in your Presence: Can it then consist with this Character patiently to see and hear the King of kings, and your best Friend a­bove, affronted and reviled? Your Honourable So­ciety derives its Name from the holy and ever-bles­sed Trinity; and will not that Title reproach eve­ry Member of this Body, who, without punishment or due rebuke, shall suffer the Majesty of the Father to be despised, the Blood and Wounds of the Son to be invoked in sport and derision, and contemptu­ous despite to be done to the Spirit of Grace? The most glorious Improvement of Navigation would be to spread Christianity wider, and enlighten the still dark Corners of the Earth with saving Know­ledge; and the readiest way of compassing this noble end would be, by making the Light of those who already profess the Gospel, so to shine in barbarous Countries, that our good Works might recommend, and demonstrate the Excellence of our Faith.

Live then, my Brethren, as becomes them whom the Lord hath redeem'd, and deliver'd from Perils various, and Deaths oft: Live so, that Strangers [Page 23]who are not yet acquainted with the Doctrine of Je­sus, may read it plainly in your Conversations: Live so, that, having first reform'd your selves, you may, with boldness and a good grace, reprove, and set a­bout reforming others. And let those under your Conduct see, that you are in very good earnest; and that you think the Honour of your Post concerned for no sort of Order and Discipline more, than for that, which hath respect to Virtue, and Reli­gion. It hath been said formerly, Qui nescit orare, as­cendat mare. that he who would learn to be devout should go to Sea: And, I dare say, You would be loath to have such an Infamy fall up­on Your days, as that of reversing the Observation, and having the Sea thought the ready Course for transforming Men into Infidels and Brutes. As therefore you have done in the Cause of your King and Country, so behave your selves valiantly in the Cause of your God. Vice, it is true, hath gathered strength, and with an unusual confidence seems to bid all good Men Battle. But Vice is never so tri­umphant, that Resolution may not bring it under. Let but that Gallantry appear in this Point, so pe­culiar to the Fleets of England in others, that of bear­ing down upon the Enemy again and again, and the day is certainly your own. Sin carries Shame and Cowardice in its very Nature, and cannot rally of­ten: And be assur'd, this is a Conquest, which, when once throughly obtain'd, would bring more Com­fort to your selves, and more true Honour to your [Page 24]Memories, than those which, at the Expence of so much Blood and Toil, transmit the Names of this Fraternity down to succeeding Generations. Nor are you ever more properly in your Post, than when encount'ring this Adversary; for the Sins of a Peo­ple, and especially of that part whose Duty it is to fight for the rest, are always the most destructive Enemy that can make War upon any Nation.

5. When your Zeal for God and the Publick hath thus exerted it self, then are you rightly prepa­red for the Fifth Branch of Thankfulness, that of Trust in God, amidst any Dangers, which shall hereafter threaten or attack you. And, however dismal these may appear, yet your former Expe­rience of that Power and Goodness, which hath so signalized it self on your behalf, will be of mighty use towards drawing down upon them with Brave­ry. For God is never weary of doing good; but his past Blessings are so many Pledges of more and better, provided we be careful not to stop the Cur­rent; nor by our Unworthiness, and Abuse of those already received, put a Bar to his Intentions of fu­ture Favour toward us. If then your own lawful Occasions, or your Country's Defence, shall call you out again to the like hazardous Attempts, remem­ber under the shadow of whose VVings you were safe heretofore, and that he is the the same, yesterday, and to day, Heb 13 8. Isai 63.1. Psal. 37.and forever, even the Lord, rich in Mercy, and mighty to save. He will not forsake his that be godly, nor [Page 25]shall they be confounded in the perilous Time: So says this Psalmist, and so infinite Passages of Holy Scripture besides. Places, which deserve the rather to be considered, because, when Art and Nature have done their utmost, still nothing goes so far toward inspiring Men with true Courage, and undaunted Presence of Mind, as an Innocent Life, and a sted­fast Faith. These only can furnish Men with that threefold impenetrable Defence, of which no Ter­rors can disarm them, A Good Cause, A Good Con­science, and a Good God.

6. There is yet a Sixth Particular behind; and that is, Readiness to succour all them, whom the like Dangers and Disasters have reduced to want your Relief. For, how are you thankful, if the escaping these do not open your Bowels to such of your Bre­thren, who actually suffer what you had also felt, if God in Mercy had not put a difference between You and Them? I have already hinted, that both Common Humanity and Christian Charity jointly plead in this Cause: And plead they do, with Ar­guments, which, since too strong to be answer'd, should be too powerful to be deny'd. And, in re­gard, where no Man's Abilities extend to the supply of all that want, great Discretion is requisite in the Choice of fit Objects for our Charity; I should not be just to the occasion of our present Meeting, did I forbear to say, that no Poverty, sustained upon Ac­counts purely secular, no Liberality, which propo­ses [Page 26]to it self Civil Advantages only, hath a better Title to our Gifts, than that, wherein disabled Sea­men and their necessitous Families are concern'd. Their Claim in truth is such, that I know not whe­ther this Relief should not be rather call'd a Debt, than a Gift. The Wealth of this Nation is in so great part imported by those in the Merchants Service, and the quiet Possession of the whole so manifestly secured by those in his Majesty's; that what we be­stow in this way, is but some small proportion of that which the Receivers have either help'd to get us, or have hind'red the Enemies taking away from us. And are we Men, if we can suffer so vile a Re­proach, as the seeing Those, whose Industry hath filled our Stores, whose Valour hath fought our Battles, at the Expence of whose Sweat and Blood it is that our Portion is grown fat and plenteous: If we can bear, I say, to see These, or their Relicts perish, when Wounds, and loss of Limbs, when Sickness, or Age, or an untimely Death, have ren­d'red Them or Theirs incapable any longer, not only of serving the Publick, but of supporting them­selves? The Rule of Equity, the Sense of our own Benefit, and the Common Interest, which depends so much upon giving all due Encouragement (I had almost said in giving all Honour and Respect) even to the meanest Subjects, who suffer in their Countries Cause, require not only Compassion, but Generosity, from all in Circumstances to extend it. [Page 27]But most of all from You, whom God hath so de­liver'd, and so bless'd, as to make that very Em­ployment the Foundation of Your better Fortunes, by which so many of your Brethren have ruin'd theirs.

And, Act for Re­gistring, and encou­raging of Seamen. if such Reasons needed to be seconded by Examples, We in this juncture, God be blest, a­bound with them. The Great Council of the Na­tion have wisely found their Honour and Safety con­cern'd to make a lasting Provision for this purpose. And the Glorious Preserver of our Rights and Li­berties, accounts it no Indignity to a Royal Palace, Greenwich Hospital. to be converted into a comfortable Retreat for de­cay'd, and a fruitful Seminary for growing, Com­manders and Mariners. He, who hath been so liberal of his own Blood for our Defence, could not but bear a just and very tender regard to Them who shed Theirs in it. And You, who have so well imitated the Courage of your Prince, will, I doubt not, be as powerfully provoked to Charity, by the same Argument and Example. The weigh­ty Trust already reposed in your hands, and the careful and wise Management of it, do not only prove the Disposition of faithful Stewards, but pro­mise that of bountiful Benefactors.

Omitting therefore any farther Enlargement, up­on a Subject, which speaks so movingly for it self, I conclude all with hearty Prayers to God, That [Page 28]He, who hath shewed you the Works and Wonders of his Goodness so plenteously, would give you Grace to be unfeignedly thankful; That he would make you successful Instruments of promoting his Glory, and the Publick Good, by your Examples, by your Authority, by reforming the Vicious, and suppres­sing Debauchery and Profaneness in all under your Command; by doing valiantly for your Country, and by shewing Mercy to your Brethren in Di­stress: In one Word, that God would grant us a Succession of Good and Gallant Men, to maintain the Safety and Dignity of this Nation; thus conti­nuing ever to make the Sea our impregnable Bul­wark, and our Fleets, what they so long have been, the Protection of our Friends, and the Terror of our Enemies. And to these Prayers, I'm sure, not only You, but every true Englishman will say: Amen.