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<DATE>2013-07-01</DATE>
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<NAME>Colm MacCrossan</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed.</ITEM>
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<STC T="W">C1519</STC>
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<BIBNO T="oclc">[ocm]80922073</BIBNO>
<VID>191821</VID>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE SEA-MENS INVITATION, WITH <HI>A Pa&s;&s;engers Ob&s;ervation</HI> In &s;ome particular things which concern them that pra|cti&s;e Navigation.
<LIST>
<ITEM>1 Their remarkable Deliverances; and the u&s;e they make of them</ITEM>
<ITEM>2 Their tempting and provoking of God about the Winde, which obeys the Lord.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3 Their abu&s;ing them&s;elves and their liberty when they go a &s;hoar, whereby the creature &s;uffers.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4 Something in particular to the Captains and Ma&s;ters, and to all their Inferiour Officers.</ITEM>
<ITEM>5 How little the Sea-men (with the &s;ouldiers in the Fleet) are profited by their Chaplains that in the year do get &s;everal groats out of their wages.</ITEM>
<ITEM>6 And a more excellent way of Teaching &s;hewn then that of their Chaplains.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<Q>They that go down to the Sea in &s;hips, that do bu&s;ine&s;se in great waters, the&s;e &s;ee the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep, <BIBL><HI>P&s;al. 107.23, 24.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<Q>And they &s;hall teach no more every man his Neighbour, and every man his Brother, &s;aying, Know the Lord; for they &s;hall all know him from the lea&s;t to the greatest of them, <BIBL><HI>Jer. 31.34.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<P>By a &s;ervant of the Truth, and a lover of Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, called <HI>William Caton.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>Thomas Simmons,</HI> at the <HI>Bull</HI> and <HI>Mouth</HI> near <HI>Alder&s;gate,</HI> 1659.</P>
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<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="tract">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="3" REF="2">
<HEAD>The Sea-mens invitation, with a Pa&s;|&s;ingers ob&s;ervation.</HEAD>
<P>GIve eare O ye Sea-men; And li&s;ten, O all ye that practice Navigation; Is there any men upon the face of the earth that hath more emminent deliverances from apparent perils then you? Is there any calling or imployment, wherein the Sons of men are exerci&s;ed, that the wonders of the Lord are more evident, or do more frequently appear then in yours? Can any men that repleni&s;h the Earth, declare experimentally &s;uch remarkable deliverances from death, as you can? hath not the &s;entence of death been oftentimes pa&s;&s;ed by you upon your &s;elves, when you have &s;een no vi&s;ible way to e&s;cape it? and even at the very time, hath not deliverance come from the Lord be|yond expectation? what dreadful and boi&s;terous, terrible and tempe&s;tious &s;tormes do you often meet withall by Sea, which were able to bring down the courage of the &s;tronge&s;t man among you, and to make his heart to faint, and his fle&s;h to tremble? and have not your eyes &s;een tho&s;e &s;tilled by him whom the wind and &s;eas obey? But con&s;ider in the height of them, and in the mid&s;t of your di&s;tre&s;s, when death was feared and expected, was not then amendment of life promi&s;ed, and a full re&s;olution and determi|nation in your hearts to live more godly and righteou&s;ly the re|&s;idue of your daies, if that the Lord would be plea&s;ed at that time to deliver you? and according to your de&s;ire it hath come to pa&s;&s;e, and your reque&s;t in that particular hath been granted, as many of you can witne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>But now mark and con&s;ider what u&s;e you have made of the remarkable deliverances before mentioned, have you not been elevated and puffed up by them? have you not been the more
<PB N="4" REF="3">negligent and carle&s;&s;e in &s;erving the Lord, thinking that he would deliver you as he had done, though you &s;pent your life as you had done formerly? have you not often boa&s;ted of them, &amp; vaunted your &s;elves in making vain repetitions of them over your cups and pipes, &amp; do you not often times cur&s;e your&s;elves, and &s;wear by your deliverer, when you are repeating of them as idle &s;tories, rather then as remarkable deliverances? but hear oh ye de&s;pi&s;ers of the Lords rich mercy, of his forbearance and long &s;uffering, How are your promi&s;es performed to the Lord, which you made in your di&s;tre&s;&s;e, or how have you paid your vowes unto him? &s;eeing that after the hardne&s;&s;e and impe|nitency of your hearts, you trea&s;ure up wrath unto your &s;elves, again&s;t the day of wrath, and Revelation of the righteous judg|ment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds, <HI>Rom.</HI> 2.4, 5.</P>
<P>Moreover notwith&s;tanding your manifold mercies, and the remarkable deliverances that you have above other men, who is there among&s;t the Sons of men, that exceeds many of you in iniquity, in licentiou&s;ne&s;&s;e and La&s;civiou&s;ne&s;&s;e? ala&s;&s;e for you, that you &s;hould thus requite the Lord, as if he were like unto your &s;elves; Surely friends, out of the multitude of his mer|cyes, and in his tender compa&s;&s;ion hath he been plea&s;ed to de|liver you out of many external perils (which none be&s;ides him could have done) and eminent dangers in which you had been overwhelmed long, ago had he not had commi&s;eration &amp; pitty upon you, who joines hand in hand to work wickedne&s;s, and doth rejoice in iniquity &amp; takes more plea&s;ure in unrighteou&s;ne&s;s then in the Lord your deliverer, who hath no delight in the death of a &s;inner, but rather in &s;hewing mercy on tho&s;e that fear him, and work Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>And be it known unto you O ye Sea-fairing men, that your iniquities exceed the &s;ins of many, who have not &s;een halfe of the wonders of the Lord, that you have been eye witne&s;&s;es of; How can &s;uperfluity of naughtine&s;&s;e abound more among a people then it abounds among &s;ome of you? and how few are there among you that will appear nobly to reprove it, but will rather connive and wink at it, yea and joine with them that live in it, although there is a witne&s;&s;e for God again&s;t it
<PB N="5" REF="3">in your con&s;ciences, yet that is little regarded nor its reproofs; for if you did mind it and its reproofs, then would you rather reprove the evil in your companions then con&s;ent unto it, and &s;o thereby you become guilty al&s;o, even as he who &s;ees a thief, and con&s;ents unto him; but oh be awakened to righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, if there remains yet any true zeal in you for God, and let wick|edne&s;&s;e be expelled out from among you, that righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e may take place in you, and this know that the &s;pirit of the Lord God will not alwaies &s;trive with you; therefore learn to do well, and cea&s;e to do evil, that truth and equity may a|bound among you, as &s;in and iniquity hath abounded, then &s;hall your light break forth as the morning, and your health &s;hall &s;pring forth &s;peedily; yea, then &s;hall you call, and the Lord &s;hall an&s;wer you, you &s;hall cry, and he &s;hall &s;ay here I am.</P>
<P>One thing I have often ob&s;erved among you (oh ye &s;ea|men) and that is your tempting and provoking the Lord a|bout the wind; but let me aske you doth it ever blow, but its fair for &s;ome of you? as for in&s;tance, if the wind be Ea&s;terly, and &s;ome of you be in <HI>Holland</HI> ready to come for <HI>England,</HI> then the wind is good and fair for &s;uch; and at the &s;ame time per|adventure, &s;ome of you may be in <HI>England</HI> ready to goe for <HI>Holland,</HI> but frets again&s;t the wind which obeyes the Lord, and when he plea&s;eth he cau&s;eth it to come We&s;terly, &s;o that it be|comes good for you al&s;o, but not the &s;ooner for your tempting of God about it. And if it continue not good untill you by it be brought to your de&s;ired haven, alas, how will you then frowne again&s;t it, and provoke him whom it obeyes by your cur&s;ing and &s;wearing, by your impatiencie and frowardne&s;&s;e? yet notwith&s;tanding, he who cau&s;eth the rain to fall upon the ju&s;t and the unju&s;t, he al&s;o maketh the wind to be &s;erviceable to you all, without which none of you could &s;ail from Country to Country like as you do, though it might be ju&s;t with the Lord (who is &s;low to anger) to cau&s;e the wind to be &s;till, and &s;o thereby deprive you of the benefit of it, becau&s;e of your un|thankfulne&s;&s;e for it, and your unworthine&s;&s;e of it; and this know that, if he &s;hould bid or command it to be &s;till, you (if you were ten times more then you are) could not make it blow; for it will not obey you, but him that created it <HI>(viz.)</HI> the Lord
<PB N="6" REF="4">God of Ho&s;ts is his name, who is daily provoked by you con|cerning this thing, and you chafe and &s;ret your &s;elves about it when it is again&s;t you; but which of you by cur&s;ing and &s;weaing by chafing and fretting your &s;elves can make it blow as you li&s;t, though it bloweth where it li&s;teth, and as he plea&s;eth whom it obeyeth? Were it not better therefore for you to be &s;till and quiet and content, con&s;idering that although it be not good for you in particular, yet it is good and fair for &s;ome that practi&s;e Navigation, who ought to have the benefit of it as well as you, although none of you have ever &s;een it good for you all at once, yet I believe there is none among you that hath &s;ailed upon the Sea half a year together, but that the wind hath been good for you at one time or another. And this I &s;ay concerning it, that it may teach you, who are di&s;obedient to him whom it obeyeth (to wit the Lord) who rebuked the wind, and &s;aid unto the Sea, peace, be &s;till, and then the wind cea&s;ed and there was a great calm; but though you are by him forbidden to &s;wear, <HI>Mat.</HI> 5.34. yet you are more di&s;obedient to him then the wind, which cea&s;ed at his rebuke, but &s;o do not you from &s;wearing at his reproof. Hee &s;aith love your enemies, ble&s;&s;e them that cur&s;e you, &amp;c. But are not you di&s;obedient to him in tho&s;e things, and in many more which might be in&s;tanced? And therefore I &s;ay the wind may teach you, which &s;ometime &s;ome of you will cur&s;e for obeying him, who &s;aith ble&s;&s;e and cur&s;e not; but your folly in this thing is mighty great, and the Lord he will judge you for it, and do not think that he'l hold you guiltle&s;s who cur&s;eth that which he bringeth out of his trea|&s;uries, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 135.7. which in it &s;elf is very good.</P>
<P>And who among&s;t men could more &s;ub&s;i&s;t without it then you, who &s;ometimes will &s;eem thankful for it, when it &s;atis|fies your wills, but if it cro&s;s you, bow froward and impatient are you? fretting your &s;elves and provoking him whom it obeyes when it cro&s;&s;eth you; therefore con&s;ider of this ye that go down to the Sea in &s;hips, that do bu&s;ine&s;s in great waters, and learn to fear the Lord, who commandeth and rai&s;eth the &s;tormie winde; Note, when &s;tormie winds come (with which you are often offended, that it is the Lord that rai&s;eth &s;tormy winds, and who al&s;o &s;tilleth them, and him they do obey who
<PB N="7" REF="4">maketh the &s;torm a calm, &s;o that the waves thereof are &s;till: and then are not you glad when you are delivered from the rage of the proud &s;welling waves of the boi&s;terous &s;ea? but alas how quicklie then do you forget your vowes which you made to the Lord, when your hearts fainted and your &s;ouls melted becau&s;e of fear and trouble that was upon you in the tempe&s;tious &s;torme, when you were almo&s;t at your wits end? but O that you would now be per&s;waded to pay your vowes to the Lord, and not to forget all his deliverances, nor yet his mercies and favours which he hath be&s;towed upon you, then would he oftentimes for your &s;akes rebuke the winds and the &s;ea, yea he would hear your cry in the time of trouble, and bring you out of your di&s;tre&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>Wherefore be awakened to righteou&s;ne&s;s, oh ye Sea-fairing men, and cea&s;e from rejoycing in iniquity, and from take|ing plea&s;ure in unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, lea&s;t that the Lord cau&s;e the great deep to &s;wallow you up, like as it hath done many thou|&s;ands before you, who have been Rebellious and di&s;obedient to the Lord whom the winds and the &s;eas obey.</P>
<P>Another thing hath been ob&s;erved by others as well as my &s;elf among you, and that is this (to wit) when you have been &s;everal moneths upon the &s;ea, (more or le&s;s) and that after|wards you by the providence of God come well into a Har|bour; and being permitted to go a &s;hore, either about your bu&s;ine&s;s, or to &s;ee your friends, or to refre&s;h your bodies, or the like, even at &s;uch times do you mo&s;t &s;hamefully abu&s;e your &s;elves, by drinking exce&s;&s;ively until you make your &s;elves more like bea&s;ts then men; And thus you abu&s;e your &s;elves and your liberty, and cometh thereby the more to be bereaved of it, and in all this the creature &s;uffers, being made &s;ubject to this vanity though not willingly.</P>
<P>But for the &s;ake of the weak, and of tho&s;e that are almo&s;t void of under&s;tanding among you, I &s;hall &s;hew you in three particulars how the creature &s;uffers: Fir&s;t, it may &s;uffer by be|ing &s;everal moneths upon the &s;ea, being kept with &s;alt and dry victuals, and &s;ometimes great &s;carcetie thereof, not onely of meat, but al&s;o of drink, in&s;omuch that a cup of clear water with a cru&s;t of dry bread would be of great worth &s;ometimes;
<PB N="8" REF="5">and &s;uch a day &s;ome of you have &s;een. Secondly the creature &s;uffers when you come a &s;hore (even the very time when it &s;hould be refre&s;hed,) by your exce&s;&s;ive drinking &amp; intemperate eating, you not being wi&s;e enough to govern your &s;elves in &s;uch a condition, when your &s;tomackes will not bear much meat, partly by rea&s;on of the long &s;carcety, nor your heads much &s;trong bear, having drunk little for a long time before; thus the good creatures of God being abu&s;ed by you, you through the abu&s;e of them become wor&s;e then you were when you had need of them. Thirdly, when you have &s;o abu&s;ed your &s;elves, with wine, &s;trong-waters or &s;trong bear, then can you not govern your &s;elves, but oftentimes doth that which you ought not to do, and thereby tran&s;gre&s;&s;eth the Law a &s;hore, or the orders you have a board upon your &s;hip, and then it may be one puni&s;hment or another is inflicted upon you (if the Of|ficers neglect not their duty) whereby the creature is made to &s;uffer; And then after your drinking exce&s;&s;ively, you are for a time unfitter to do your bu&s;ine&s;s then you were before you went a&s;hore; and then peradventure by rea&s;on of your abu&s;ing your &s;elves and others, you may come to be debarred of the liberty of the going a &s;hore, to take the benefit of the whol|&s;ome Aire, and to be refre&s;hed with &s;uch things as the Coun|try do afford, which you may have need of, and yet want them aboard.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>To the Captains and Ma&s;ters of all Ships, and to all their inferiour officers.</HEAD>
<P>HAd you been guiltle&s;s of tho&s;e &s;ins whereof the Sea-men (whom you are &s;et over) are guiltie, then you &s;hould have been a terrour to them that do evil, and much of the evil which abounds among&s;t them would have been &s;uppre&s;&s;ed by you, who are Authorized to rule over them; but much of your authoritie you lo&s;e by partaking of their &s;ins; for behold, doth not the witne&s;&s;e of God in your own con&s;ciences accu&s;e you, and tell you, you are inexcu&s;able your &s;elves, fora&s;much as
<PB N="9" REF="5">you are overtaken with tho&s;e &s;ins your &s;elves which you re|prove them for? But con&s;ider, ought you not to have been good patterns, and examples of righteou&s;ne&s;s among them? ought you not to have walked in the fear of God among them, and endeavoured to have kept them in the &s;ame? ought you not rather &s;harplie to have reproved them for their evil, then to have joined with them in the evil, as oftentimes many of you do? and have done, when you &s;ee they cannot govern them|&s;elves, ought not you therefore to govern them? wherefore are you Authorized and &s;et as Ma&s;ters and Captains over them, if not to govern and order them? But how can you do that when you are inflamed with wine, &s;trong waters or &s;trong bear? and at &s;uch times your weakne&s;s and nakedne&s;s doth appear unto them, and if you reprove and puni&s;h them for being as you are, then the Lord by his witne&s;&s;e doth judge, and con|demn you; for you being guilty, the Lord will not acquit you, neither &s;hall you go unpuni&s;hed; but this I would have you ob|&s;erve, that whil&s;t you are guilty of tho&s;e things for which you reprove them, you cannot reprove them with that authority and boldne&s;&s;e you might do it if you were clear your &s;elves of tho&s;e things for which you reprove them, neither is your reproof and puni&s;hment &s;o effectual to them as it might be, if you were free from that for which you reprove and puni&s;h them; but alas what is that &s;in among them that you are free from? And therefore cannot their tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions be reproved by you as they ought to be, untill you have cea&s;ed from your own. And this I &s;ay, if you were but faithful unto the Lord in what you know, you might be in&s;truments of good among them whom you rule over; but while your conver&s;ation is &s;o vain, your carriage &s;o light, your behaviour &s;o wanton, and your words &s;o un&s;avoury, there is little hope of their reformation who follow you for examples; Oh therefore be awakened to righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e that you may be patterns of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e to tho&s;e that thir&s;t after it, if there be any &s;uch among you: and grieve not the holy &s;pirit no longer, which daily, &s;e|cretlie reproves you, the reproofs of which hath been &s;et at nought by many of you, as it appeares by your continuance in the reproveable things for which you are reproved, and the&s;e few lines are to you Captaines and Ma&s;ters, with your inferiour
<PB N="10" REF="6">Officers, not to upbraid ye, but to reprove you to righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e, that you may come faithfully to di&s;charge your dutie in tho&s;e things which are committed to your charge and tru&s;t, for which you are not onelie to be accountable unto man, but al|&s;o unto the Lord, who will render a reward to everie one ac|cording to their deeds done in the bodie, whether they be good or evil.</P>
<P>And as for you who have Chaplains aboard with you, whom you look upon to be Mini&s;ters of the word, and whom you own as teachers; This I have to &s;ay unto you in general con|cerning them, That if they were &s;ent of God to preach his word, and to teach you, then they would preach freelie without coveting your groats or dimini&s;hing from your wages.</P>
<P>Are they not of that &s;ort of whom the Lord &s;peakes by his Prophet <HI>Malachi, Mal</HI> 3.5. and &s;aith I will be a &s;wift witne&s;&s;e again&s;t tho&s;e that oppre&s;&s;e the hireling in his wages, &s;eeing they mu&s;t have a groat in the moneth out of your wages, and hath the &s;ame wages allowed them that you have; mark, do you not work harder for your wages, and take more paines for the &s;ame then they? then judge you whether this be equal or not that they &s;hould have of your wages, for which you were hired, not being content with as much as mu&s;t &s;erve you who are worthie of your hire, and its pitty that you &s;hould be op|pre&s;&s;ed by them hirelings, who it may be may have two hun|groats in the moneth one of them more then one of you, If they did not come more for the love of your groats, then out of love to your &s;ouls, its probable that the &s;ame wages might &s;erve one of them, that &s;erves one of you.</P>
<P>Moreover, if there be a hundred men in one Frigot more then in another, will not they &s;eek to get into that Frigot where there is mo&s;t men? and is not this one of their ends that they aime at, <HI>(viz)</HI> &s;o manie more men, &s;o manie more groats in the moneth? And here they re&s;emble their brethren the pa|ri&s;h teachers who will &s;trive to get that pari&s;h Church (as they call it) where there is mo&s;t Tithes, or the greate&s;t benefice: Now I &s;ay &s;uch are not Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, neither doth the Lord &s;end &s;uch to preach his word; therefore
<PB N="11" REF="6">cannot they profit you at all: And again if they were Mini|&s;ters of the word, or appointed of God to teach you, then they &s;hould be good examples to you, which they are not in their pride, in their covetou&s;ne&s;s, and in their oppre&s;&s;ing you in your wages, neither are they good examples to you, in their intem|perate drinking until they be inflamed, nor yet in their light|ne&s;&s;e and wantonne&s;&s;e by which they cau&s;e you to erre: And are not they inexcu&s;eable for judging and reproving you for the&s;e things whil&s;t they them&s;elves are guiltie of the &s;ame? But &s;ome will &s;ay that after they are rejected upon the Land, they will &s;erve poor &s;ea-men; And when you have them, what are you benefited by them? or what difference is there in your life and conver&s;ation that hath them, and theirs that have them not? hitherto I have perceived none; for wickedne&s;&s;e and pro|phane&s;&s;e abounds, both among you that have them, and al&s;o a|mong them that have them not. Therefore in love to your Souls am I moved to &s;hew unto you a more exellent way of teaching then theirs, which &s;hall be free without monie and without price.</P>
<P>Heare now then O ye Sea-fairing men who practice Navi|gation, have you not been &s;ometimes in jeoperdie of your lives? yea, have not your hearts &s;ometimes fainted, and your &s;ouls e|ven melted, (as it were) within you, by rea&s;on of the extremi|tie of fear, and trouble that hath been upon you in perillous and tempe&s;teous &s;tormes? And hath not there &s;ome thing even at that verie moment of time been awakened in you, where|by you have in mea&s;ure &s;een the wickedne&s;s of your condition, and the &s;ins of your youth? now that which was thus awakned in you, was Gods witne&s;&s;e, or the light which Chri&s;t Je&s;us (the Son of God) hath enlightned you with all, which from thence|forth (if you had obeyed it) it would have taught you the re|&s;idue of your life to have lived godlily, righteou&s;ly and &s;oberly in this pre&s;ent evil world, it would have taught you to have for&s;aken drunkenne&s;&s;e, pride covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, lying, &s;wearing, cur|&s;ed &s;peaking, yea in few words it would have taught you the whole dutie of man, which is to fear God and keep his com|mandements; And this is that teacher, the excellencie of who&s;e teaching excels your Chaplines; For they teach you to be|lieve
<PB N="12" REF="7">that the Scripture is the light, and the word and the power of God, but this will teach you to believe that he is the light,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 5.39. Rom. 1.16.</NOTE> and the word of whom the Scripture doth te&s;tifie, and that the Go&s;pel is the power of God according to the Scripture; They will teach you by an hour gla&s;s, it may be two or three hours in the week, but this teacher will not be limited to an hour, to a time, nor yet to a place, but is alwayes pre&s;ent with you to teach you the fear of the Lord.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.</NOTE> They through their Mini&s;try may keep you alwayes learning, and yet not be able to bring you to the knowledge of the truth; but they who are taught by this, come to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Je&s;us; this teacher will teach you freely without money and without price; but your Chaplaines mu&s;t have a certain &s;um of money, otherwi&s;e many of them would lay down their trade of Preaching. This will teach you to &s;ing with the &s;pirit and with under|&s;tanding,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 14.15.</NOTE> but they will teach you to &s;ing <HI>Davids</HI> conditions, which he pa&s;&s;ed through, and which many of you under|gand not;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 The&s;. 5.22.</NOTE> This will teach you to pray with the &s;pirit and with under&s;tanding; but they will teach you to pray formal|ly at &s;et times, as if the &s;pirit were limited to a form, and the holy one of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> to a &s;et certain hour; This will teach you to &s;hun evil in its appearance, to avoid the pollutions of the world; and to for&s;ake &s;in, and to ab&s;tain from it, but they will teach you that you cannot e&s;cape the pollutions of the world while in the world,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 14.34.</NOTE> but that you mu&s;t be polluted with them; neither that you can be free from that which is a &s;hame (or a reproach) to any people; they will teach you to contend again&s;t that which reproveth you for &s;in and condemneth it in the fle&s;h (<HI>viz.</HI> the light in your con&s;cience:) But it will teach you to love it, to obey it, to follow it, though it judge you, and reprove you, it is for your good, that you by it might be brought out of the things for which you are judged and reproved into peace with God who teacheth his people by this teacher, who&s;e teach|ing by it is a more excellent way of teaching then mans in|vention; which many in the&s;e latter dayes have received by tradition, of which &s;ort your Chaplaines are who oppre&s;s you in your wages; and teacheth for doctrines things which
<PB N="13" REF="7">they ought not for filthy lucres &s;ake;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 3.3.</NOTE> as in tho&s;e particulars before mentioned you may &s;ee which briefly I have in|&s;tanced, but many more might be alleadged whereby it might be more evidently manife&s;ted that the way by which God teacheth (in the light) doth far excell the teachings of your Chaplains;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Joh. 2.27.</NOTE> and this teacher whereof I &s;peak is that which teacheth of all things, which is truth, and no lie, which abode in the Saints and abideth in them, and as it taught them, &s;o were they to abide in him who is light, Chri&s;t Je&s;us, and then they needed neither Prie&s;t nor Chaplain nor any man to teach them, and they that come to witne&s;s the teachings of this teacher (the annointing) they need not &s;ay one to another, know him who hath promi&s;ed to teach his people him&s;elf, even him whom the winds and Seas obey; for &s;uch comes to know him and his teachings, even from the lea&s;t to the greate&s;t.</P>
<P>Now if you would come to know this excellent way of teaching, you mu&s;t come to the light which &s;heweth you &s;in and evil, and convinceth you of the &s;ame, and then you'l come to know its teachings, guidings and leadings, love it, and you love Chri&s;t; believe in it, and you believe in Chri&s;t, obey it, and then you'l obey him whom the winds and the &s;ea obey, therefore be not rebellious and &s;tiff-necked, O ye that &s;ail upon the great deep, but turn you unto the Lord at his reproof, who &s;ecretly oftentimes doth reprove you for your &s;in and tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion whereby you have been long &s;eparated from God, who doth not delight in the death of a &s;inner but rather in &s;hewing of mercy.</P>
<P>O that you would be wi&s;e and learn to fear the Lord, then &s;hould I with thou&s;ands more rejoyce in your Re|formation; And this I know, that there are &s;ome among you which is daily burthened with the wickedne&s;s that abounds among you, and yet &s;carce dare to reprove you, finding &s;o much in them&s;elves that is reproveable, but if &s;uch do keep to the light whereby that which is reprove|able is manife&s;ted, they will come to feel the oppera|peration of the &s;pirit of judgement and of the &s;pirit of burn|ing in them&s;elves, whereby they will come to be purified, and then they may freely reprove that in another which is judged and condemned in them&s;elves.</P>
<PB N="14" REF="8">
<P>Truly (O ye &s;ea-fairing men) my &s;oul pitpittieth you,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ay 57.20.</NOTE> when I con&s;ider that you are like the troubled Seas which ca&s;teth up mire and dirt, your mirth and you melody, your je&s;ting and your folly, your laughter, and your vanity, your pa&s;time and your &s;inging, your &s;torming &amp; your raging &s;ometime again&s;t the wind, &amp; &s;ometime one again&s;t another, alas what is it more then the mire and the dirt, or the foam of the troubled Sea which is your figure: I have al&s;o ob&s;erved that it is hard to find a grave &s;olid &s;ober man in a &s;hip that feareth God and worketh righteou&s;ne&s;s, but upbraiding and provoking one another to naughtine&s;s and folly; &s;uper|fluitie of that is to be found among you, as if you &s;hould not be called to an account for it; but O! let the time pa&s;t &s;uffice wherein you have done very fooli&s;hly, and now learn to fear the Lord; and let the wind and Sea (which you have &s;o much acca&s;ion for, teach you to obey him, who hath more delight in obedience to his voice, then in burnt-offerings and &s;acrifices.</P>
<P>This is the day of your vi&s;itation wherein the hand of the Lords love is &s;tretched out towards you,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 15.22.</NOTE> and wherein he is waiting to be gracious unto you, therefore now in this the day of the Lords everla&s;ting power, &s;eek ye the things which belong to your peace, while they may be found, lea&s;t the day come wherein they may be hid from your eyes; in love to your &s;ouls is this Paper write and &s;ent among you as a token of Gods vi&s;itation to you, from one who hath view|ed your condition, and was moved with commi&s;eration and pitty towards you who now hath time, but how long you may have it you know not; therefore while you have it, prize it.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><HI>Amsterdam in Holland</HI> <DATE><HI>the</HI> 4. <HI>Mon.</HI> 1659.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED>W. C.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="conclusion">
<PB N="15" REF="8" MS="y">
<P>THe mighty day of the Lord is coming, and he will teach his people him&s;elf, who is gathering his people, from all fal&s;e &s;hepherds, and Chri&s;t Je&s;us the great Shepherd, &s;hall rule over them and teach them who will write his Law in their hearts, and put his Law in their minds, and he will be their God, and they &s;hall be his people, <HI>Heb.</HI> 7. and his annoiting &s;hall be in them, and as that doth teach them they &s;hall abide in the Son, and in the Father, and his &s;pirit in them &s;hall lead them; and as that doth lead them, they are the Sons of God; and it &s;hall lead them into all truth, and it &s;hall comfort them, and bring all Chri&s;ts words to their remembrance which he hath &s;poken forth, and that &s;pirit is it that doth reprove the world, which is the Saints Comforter, therefore to that, that doth reprove you all, mu&s;t you come before you know the Comforter.</P>
<TRAILER>THE END.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
