Selected quad for the lemma: evil_n
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A58036
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A plat for mariners, or, The seaman's preacher delivered in several sermons upon Jonah's voyage by John Ryther ...
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Ryther, John, 1634?-1681.
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1672
(1672)
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Wing R2442; ESTC R33862
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122,256
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256
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when all comes to all they are worth less than nothing and undone for ever no grace no peace no Christ no glory and is it worth the while to venture ones life and soul for that which is worth nothing and will do one no good in another world 5. Consider what dangers you are in every moment I need not tell you that you are sailing within a few inches of death sometimes storms sometimes sands sometimes rocks sometimes pyrates sometimes a calm and provisions fail sometimes the Vessel proves leaky and men are fain to pump for their lives you know your dangers better than I I wish you did also know how to secure your selves what have you to hold up your hearts in the greatest of difficulties can you say Christ is my Ark in this storm his bosom will be my harbour if this should prove a wrack What dost thou say man if you can't I wish you could Awake oh sleeper what meanest thou 6. Consider how good a Voyage some make they go out fraught with tears and groans and pass through many a storm devouring seas of difficulties and sometimes almost lost so that they scarce know whether they be in the Sea or out their Masts are spent their Rigging spoil'd their Anchors and Cables broke and yet after all there hath been a calm their Rigging recruited and all recovered and they come home richly laden with grace peace glory and the pearl of great price and they come top and top-gallant into the harbour of rest and have an abundant entrance administred into the everlasting inheritance and would not you be one of those Blessed are the people that are in such a case yea blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. Oh what a triumphant welcome will such have to Glory and would not you be glad to be of this number but Sir what shall I do to make such a Voyage If I should give you advice will you take it Oh but will you indeed if you will not lay down this book and read no farther But methinks I hear some saying Oh that we did but know what we shall do to be saved what we shall do to secure this pearl of great price Oh a Christ a pardon and heaven upon any terms in the world Well then if you take this following advice my soul for yours if you miscarry Direction 1. Venture not out but in a Directions sound fight and good bottom let your ground-work be well laid in deep humility and solid knowledg labour to know your selves your corrupt natures your absolute need of Christ his excellency secure for yours and all 's well Labour to see sin the greatest evil in the world and to loth your selves and justifie God under a sense of your own unworthiness beg that you may not be deceived with an hypocritical profession but that your hearts may be right in Gods statutes he that 's sincere is safe 2. Have not too many Owners let God be your owner and you are safe enough none of his Vessels miscarry Yield your selves to the Lord make over all you have to him never more your own than when most his 3. Let all your tackling be of the best let your Judgment be well convinced and established that 's your Mast let your affections be divine they are your Sails let your hope cast Anchor upon Christ and the Scripture-promises let your Vessel be well ballasted with humility lay in good provisions such as are strengthning wholsome lasting get in the whole armour of God and resist your adversary therewith and he will fly from you 4. Let your lading fraught be such Commodities as will go off well in that other Country Oh how many that are bound for another world that are loaded with rags dung dross faith love meekness patience zeal heavenly-mindedness these are the wares that can never want a good market 5. Make up your accounts exactly when you go out go to the great office insure all whatever it cost you it 's that may be done you may run a sad riskow if you don 't the comfort and peace that you will have in it wil abundantly recompence your pains charge in this business How joyfully then â—ay you look dangers in the face though the Sea run mountains high though the waves therof roar though every billow look as if it brought death with it yet how comfortably may such a one look he knows that if the vessel break and his body be drowned yet Christ lives and he shal immediately be cast upon a happy shore where in amoment all wants shall be supplied all losses shall be made up in the glorious perfect and eternal fruition of God And he that gets Heaven Christ and Glory by his losses hath no great reason to be afraid of them 6. Labour to make the best advantage of opportunity don't lose your markets when the wind presents hoise sail and away The opportunities that God gives you at Land in his Ordinances must not be slighted the Lords day is your great market-day wherein you may buy the richest peniworths and when affections are striving the spirit of God is moving upon your spirits striving with your fouls and pleading with you then have a care of loosing such an opportunity that 's a brave gale and the wind sits fair if you be then ready such a wind may send you amain to your port or else you may lie becalm'd or windbound eat out your comforts and lose more than you are aware of 7. Take heed of the great rocks Presumption and Despair take heed of the great Pyrat the Devil take heed of running a ground the love of the world ruins thousands and if you strike here it 's dangerous but if you stick here you are broken Ship-wracked lost take heed of all the sins that poor Seamen are too subject to Swearing cursing raging damning jeering at godliness neglect of prayer hardness of heart atheism may I not add drunkenness uncleanness c. 8. Look oft to your Compass the Word of God and then you can't steer amiss read and meditate upon the Scriptures the Bible is an excellent companion 9. Get a good Convoy Pilot Factor Christ is all count all as dung and dross in comparison of him let your eye be still to him your heart upon him and know this you can't overvalue him whom never yet any did sufficiently prize let your hearts be much above let not sea and land make you forget heaven think you never make agood port till you are safe in the arms of Christ 10. Keep an exact Journal observe what way you make by this God may have glory you may have past experiences to feed your faith and hope upon for the future O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men 11. Let losses make you more diligent to get and secure that which can't be lost 12. In a
Nation and Nation what brave Sea-men will they be that have made their peace with God then they may Rejoyce in going out to War so some take that Jud. ◠18. Text of Zebulun for Zebulun is commended for jeoparding there lives unto the death they disdained their Souls to death as the Dutch Annotators observe upon it they fought so bravely for Israels deliverance that they seem to condemn their very lives no man will fight so bravely with an Enemy as he that is reconciled unto God Are not they fittest to fight that are fittest to dye 2. Motive to inquire into the cause of all Evils coming upon you this speaks you sensible of the hand of God There are some that whatsoever they meet with at Sea or at Land all their lives they never say for whose cause is this come upon us they are obdurate and hardned they are like Solomons drunk ard Thou shalt be as he that lyeth down in the midst Prov 23. 34 35. of the Sea or as he that lyeth upon the top of the Mast they have stricken me shal◠thou say and I was not sick They have beat en me and I felt it not when shall I awake I will take it yet again Are there not many such poor drunken Sea-men and O what danger are they in as one that lyeth asleep in the top of the Mast and is stricken and yet feels nothing is even hardned in his sin O these poor Souls never inquires into the cause of the evil and dangers they meet with all As God said of a People why should you be smitten any more you Revolt more and more 3. Motive to inquire into the cause of all evils you meet with this-will help you much to the knowledg of your hearts and lives and O how necessary are these to know both for Sea-men and Land-men You love to know how such a Rock lyes and such a Sand such a Port and such a Coast such a 〈◊〉 or Cape O it is as necessary to know your hearts to know where such a Rock of temptation lyes and such a Sand of a temptation lyes to know these that your precious Souls may never be split upon any of them O many of these Rocks of temptations lye hid in your hearts and you may be run upon them before you ever are aware if you do not know how they lie O how many a pretious Soul hath perished for want of knowing how the temptations of their own hearts lay they have thought they have run upon a bold Coast as you say and hath ventured upon temptations with their own carnal confidence and so have miscarried for ever did you know you had such proud hearts you were almost split upon the Rock of Pride did you know you had such worldly hearts until you were almost split upon the Rock of Covetuousness well now by inquiring into the cause of your evils you come to the knowledg of your hearts For sometimes the cause lyes there and your lives it somtimes lyes there O that poor Sea-men would see into their lives and see if the accursed thing be not there Is it not your loosness your profaneness your swearing your violation of the Sabboth your mocking at prayer your despiseing of ordinances your cruelty to the Souls of the men under your charge some of you Are not those things the causes of the Lords controversie with you It may be you go on and sin and never inquire into these matters until the fatall storm and dismal stroak over-take you and then perish you must when you have scarce time to say Lord for whose sake is this evil come upon us 4. Motive to inquire into the cause of the evils you meet withall This will argue you look higher then second causes in storms and distresses that none of these afflictions arise out of the dust the winds are his winds his servants the Seas his servants and you must look over from the servant to the Lord. These poor Mariners you see did look higher therefore they pray unto their Gods this is a Christian spirit this storme fulfills the will of God the word of God and good is the word of the Lord. 5. Motive to inquire into the cause of the evils you meet with This argues sincerity and integrity of soul that they all were so willing to cast lots and find out the Malefactor argued their uprightness and innocency as to that extraordinary guilt that they thought this storm came for When a poor Sea-man can say with holy David Lord search me and try me and know my heart and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me doth not this argue sincerity and uprightness can any Ps 139. 23 24. but a sound heart abide searching especially Gods searching Can any but upright hearts desire to know the plague of their own hearts to desire to know the worst by themselves to say is it I Lord is it I that have caused this storm am I the Jonah in the Vessel am I the guilty Person this storm is sent after if Lord I yeild to thy most righteous sentence do what thou wilt with me so that this storm may become a calm 2. Use Is it so that inquiry into the cause is our duty when in distress then it is a word of direction O but sayes poor Souls now we shall inquire into the cause of God's controversie with us 1. By Prayer This is the great inquiry shew me wherefore thou contendest with me this is the only way to find out the controversie Thus David did as you have heard Search me O God try me c. Joshua's prayer found out the Achan for God upon it bid him arise and search out the cursed thing He knew not of the accursed thing until he had been inquiring of God and then all comes out O Prayer brings all out As sometimes God sayes by Preaching Thou art the man as he did by Nathan unto David so he says somtimes by Prayer thou art the man and this is the sin the cause of such an evil and of such a tryal 2. Direction Would you find out the cause then you must look into your selves as well as look up to God looking inward is as necessary as looking upward you must make a diligent search you must commune with your own hearts You must find this if ever you find it upon search O it is not an easie thing to find out the cause of Gods contending with us And therefore we must be exact in the scrutiny 1. It is it may be some hidden thing the accursed thing was the hidden thing it was not in the open field no it was in Achans Tent yea and it was hid there therefore we must ransack every corner of our hearts they have many dark corners and we must if we will find out the cause go from corner to corner with the light of the Word You Sea-men search your Ships for the