Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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A36938
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The Christian's compass, or, The mariner's companion being a brief compendium of the principles of religion, in the things which are necessary to be known and practised by all who profess the name of Christ / long since prepared, and now published by John Durant ...
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Durant, John, b. 1620.
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1658
(1658)
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Wing D2671; ESTC R8810
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36,678
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107
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and sweet experiences which then thou hast enjoyed to learne to live and hope in any tempest and storm that hereafter thou mayest meet withall 10. How useful and serviceable is every Rope yea the least about the ship in its proper place And how well skilled are the Sea-men in them How do they know them all by name and with what dexterity and strength do they hand and hale and hold any of them as occasion is Surely O my soul all thy spiritual tackling is useful and necessary Every word of God is good Every precept promise threatning experience c. all and each of these are occasionally to be remembred improved yea every work and providence every mercy and affliction should be known as it were by Name And wert thou but divinely dextrous and spiritually skilful thou mightest make special use of all in thy spiritual Navigation 11. The ship hath not onely Merchandize and treasure in its hold but it carryes force and strength upon its Decks Here are instruments of war guns c. to secure from enemies and pyrates as well as Commodities to traffick withall all And surely O my soul it becomes thee to minde the weapons of thy warfare that whole Armor of God which out of the Magazine of the Scriptures thou art to be furnished withall Go into and take a sight of the Armory as 't is opened Eph. 6.14 15 16 17. There are Enemyes and Pyrates upon the soul-Sea Men yea and devils of wrath and war that way-lay thee Expect an onset and provide None ever did passe over the Sea of the world but met with Pyrates Thou must resist and fight yea and that unto blood to secure thy self from being taken or sunk and remember this and look about thee O my soul thou carryest petty Pyrates within thee that will never fight for thee flesh will not fight against the world and Satan nay which war against thy soul Look to it therefore to watch against those within that thou mayest the better maintain thy fight without 12. Still by our Helm stands the compasse that the steersman may alwayes eye it As soon as his hand is on the Helm his eye is on the Compasse and with what exactness strength doth he hold the Helm to steer to a point by that Thus it becomes thee O my poor soul to eye thy Compasse in all thy stirring and steering up and down the world It 's not enough to hand and hold the Helm to put forth strength to stir and do indeed this is very good against idleness but thou must eye the rule that while thou stirrest it may be within as we say are according to Compasse Many who are not idle are yet evil employed who though they stir yet it 's not according to compasse and it is a thousand to one if they run not aground upon some Rock ot Sand. But let the word be in thy hand in thy heart keep it that it may guide thee Remember retain it O my soul as a certain truth That they make shipwrack of their soul who ey not and steer not according to Compass how active and zealous soever they be otherwise Actions that are irregular and without Compass are as bad as direct idleness if not often worse CHAP. XI Here are some occasional Meditations to stir up and to direct in this work I Have now almost done only to these Maritine Meditations which I call mixed as being of sundry sorts I shall add twelve more occasional ones drawn from some particular occasions and then I 'le conclude On the Boatswains Whistle What a shril sound doth this whistle make How is it heard both fore and ought above and beneath Deck And how ready is every one at the sound thereof Surely there is no vertue in this Whistle onely the Sea-men know the sound and use thereof and 't is therefore that they are so ready at its call to come Both John and Jesus piped O my soul but the refractory Jews stirred not surely they knew not what that sound meant But shew thy life and skill O my soul and upon any sound of the words whistle stir Upon every blast of sacred breath which sounds that sacred silver pipe up and see what it means O let the sound thereof be shrill and powerful on thy heart On a piece of Plank floating on the Sea Yonder swims the sad signe of the wracke of some I conclude the sinking of the passenger from the swimming of the Plank Blessed Lord Why suffer me to ask it why didst not save some one upon that piece of Timber might not that board or broken piece have been as in Pauls case a little Ark to save some from drowning by carrying them to shore But pardon my presumption in this question Yet it may be there wanted a Paul in the vessel to whom thou mightest have given all that did sail therein But why should I so imagine and uncharitably sink them lower who are gone down into the bottom of the great deep Turnin O my soul upon thy self reflect and see what might have befallen thee That Plank might have been thy floating Tomb or Monument that some other passenger might have read on it thy departure by drowning Be not high-minded then but fear Admire mercy in preserving thee The same hand that broke that Vessel in pieces whereof that Plank or piece of Timber was can split thee at his pleasure And the next passengers may see the broken pieces of the ship in which thou wert and read a better Lecture on them then thou dost on this making better use both of instruction and improvement by example On a Sea-man which fell asleep in the shrouds and fell down in the Sea while the Sermon was preaching c. What another Eutychus is here yet there 's a difference Eutychus in the Acts chap. 20. was asleep in the window and he sunk down from the third loft saith the holy Historian but this yong man was asleep in the shrowds of a ship and sunk down into the Sea Eutychus was dead with the fall this young man but almost drowned Eutychus had a fairer excuse for his drowsiness for it was in the night then this young man who fell asleep at the noon of the day Yet O my soul canst not say this to excuse this young man He had not so holy so rowzing a Preacher as Eutychus had Alas how far art thou O my soul beneath Paul Well let the yong man learn to be less drowzy and be thou more awaking stirring in preaching Yet tell others O my soul 't is dangerous sleeping in Sermon-time Bid them to look about them to attend to the word of life lest they sleep the sleep of death and sink down from a corporal to a spiritual sleep never to awake till they are rowzed up to give an account for that Sermon at which they they slept and dyed On a great distraction in the Navy suddenly and safely ended
CHRISTIAN'S COMPASS OR The Mariner's COMPANION BEING A Brief COMPENDIUM of the Principles of Religion in the things which are necessary to be known and practised by all who profess the Name of CHRIST Long since prepared and now published by John Durant Preacher of the Gospel somtimes in the Navy and now at Christs Church CANTERBVRY PSAL. 77.19 Thy way is in the Sea and thy path in the great waters and thy footsteps are not known London Printed by T. L. for the Author MDCLVIII To every Christian especially every sea-man The Author wisheth a good Voyage and as an help therein humbly presents them with this Card or Compass Dear souls THere are many years past since these meditations were first conceived and albeit I have once and again had thoughts of publishing them yet still I have been diverted from these thoughts until now And now they come abroad almost in the very same dress in which they were at first The notions are the very same and the matter throughout is not any thing altered only I have expunged and blotted out some more pedantick phrases which some of the heads were expressed in according to my then juvenile fancie And I account the bloâ—ting out of them no blot to the book Nor the confession thereof any shame to my selfe Indeed the enticing words of mans wisdome would have been a great blemish to the truths of Christ which are ever most powerful and glorious when most plainly held forth The designe was to spiritualize the observations of a Sea-voyage unto some soul-advantage and my thoughts were to have held forth the principal if not the whole result of my meditations to the Seamen in that ship I was in the year 1642 as a farewell to them But our suddame parting after wee came to an anchoâ— in the Thames prevented it Hereupon I vesolved some time or other to print it For I confess I was loath to conceale the things which so well pleased mee then and indeed do yet if I may with humility say any thing of my own pleaseth me hoping they may please and profit some others as well as my selfe And Reader whoever thou art I perswade my selfe that thy pains in the perusal of this will be profitable in case thou observe those directions 1. Read with a sober minde Do not run from any head as soon as thou hast read it The things are delivered briefly yet comprehensively A little meditation and serious consideration will make ever page swell into yea and exceed a sheet All who know what belongs to handling Divinity-heads know that this small Manual might have made a large volume But the truth is I did industriously shorten and contract it that I might put thee Reader upon an industrious and diligent inlargement by meditation and consideration 2. Commit the whole if and as much as it may be unto memory That thou mayost if the matter be reduced in a Catechatical way to questions answers as readily answer unto and tell any head in this spiritual Compass as our Mariners can their Sea-compass For instance Suppose one asks you in your heads of knowledge What is your first point Answer It is God who stands for North. And suppose it be asked in your heads of practise What is the first point of the Compass there Answer Never stir or steer in any course but by light from God So of the rest That is my second direction Labour to be as ready in saying this as our cabin-boys are brought to be ready in their compasse 3. Indeavor to improve this by imitations especially in the last 〈◊〉 of meditations Men at Sea make many observations and so may men at land likewise which if they were but so wise and holy as to improve unto some divine meditations might be very useful for practical and pious application in sundry spiritual cases These directions I commend to every one into whose hand providence shal put this book But to such as are Mariners I have two other words to add and let me beseech them to minde and consider them 1. The great God is arose from his place and is now upon the waters to do great things by those whose cry is in the ships Jehovah hath mighty works to be done upon the mighty waters and sea-men are to be his instruments for the accomplishment of many glorious prophesies Therefore 2. Now let every Mariner look out and look about him Happy are they whom God will chuse and use at all But more happy are they who as the ships of Tarshish shal come first as Isa 60 9. As there is glory in being in Christ first unto which Paul alludes Rom. 16.7 So there is a peculiar priviledge in being used by Christ first in any great service Seamen therefore now if ever look after godliness God hath chosen the godly man for himself and service Wicked men whom God doth use may and shall have large rewards and good wages but yet they shal lose their Voyage Even Nebuchadnezzar had his wages for his service as it is Ezek. 29.18 Yet alas what became of him O ye gallant Mariners who are to swim and serve in gallant ships upon a gallant service strive to be truly gracious which will be your greatest gallantry and glory now and to eternity without which you will either be fit for no service as to God or for no reward from him as to a spirituall account what ever your works or worth may be from and as to men upon a civill score O therefore minde your souls and their spiritual concernments in all your service and remember that certainly NOW it's high time to flye from those Sea-monsters of Swearing Drunkenness Uncleanness c. NOW its high time to purge your hearts and hands and to go from those abominations that yee may be Vessels fitted for the Masters use prepared unto every good work But I 'le speak no more unto you at present yet I 'le sight out the rest for you in secret Verily ye Mariners you have a great place in my heart My first publike service in the Gospel of Christ was on the Sea I cannot choose therefore but love and pray for Seamen Let me beseech you therefore to accept of this short hint in love Now the blessed God who glorifyes his power in mans weakness glorify himself by blessing this little book with the furtherance of souls in their spiritual Sea-Voyage Reader I am thine in the service of thy soul for Christs sake and his Gospels John Durant The Spiritual Sea-man OR A Manual for Mariners CHAP. I. The Introduction to the Discourse setting forth the state of a Christian in this world to be as of a Ship at Sea THE Allegory of a Ship as the emblem of our life as its ancient for its invention so 't is approved for its aptnesse and generally apprehended for its plainness There are but few that are so slow of conceit but can easily see that like as it is with a