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prayers of the congregation with whom you worship on shore, along with your own prayers, for His preservation and blessing. And this, brethren, is not a mere duty; but it is a blessed privilege, for there is a sweet and encouraging promise belonging to the united prayers of sincere Christians, that if two of them shall agree on earth, as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them by their Father which is in heaven! Again, as saith our Lord, "where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst."* Another promise connected with the acknowledgment of our dependence upon God, is also rich in consolation and blessing :—“In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy paths."+ Now, therefore, I beseech you, brethren, 'in the sight of all the congregation of the Lord, and in the audience of our God,' seek publicly, as well as privately, for the divine blessing, that you may obtain the mercies which he hath so graciously promised, and which you so greatly need.

Whilst, however, the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep, which you witness, afford repeated calls, upon seafaring men, to habitual prayer and devotion,-the exhibitions of God's providential dispensations, and preserving

* Matt. xviii. 19, 20. See also Acts iv. 24-31; xii. 5—13. † Prov. iii. 6. Jer. x. 23.

mercies, demand your thanksgivings and praises.. Therefore, I repeat the admonition,-mark and remember the hand of the Lord in all your adventures and preservations, that you may learn to read the book of his providence, to discern his great loving-kindness and his wonderful forbearance, and to praise him for his compassion and unspeakable goodness. And judge ye, brethren, if it be not profitable so to do? For whether is more likely to be remembered of the Lord-the unthankful, or the grateful? On whom, think you, will he rather look with an eye of pity-on the thoughtless and impenitent, or on him who marks his providence, and hopes in his mercy? Whether of the two may reasonably look for the mercy of heaven-the hardened, rebellious sinner, who ascribes all providential mercies to a heathen chance, or he who acknowledges the hand of God, and praises him for his loving-kindness and sparing goodness? Surely, your hearts will answer rightly, and decide with David, saying "it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High." "Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" O that all the partakers of the divine mercy, in this congregation, would discharge the duty, and embrace the privilege, of giving thanks before their assembled brethren, by the mouth of

their minister, for the loving-kindness they have received at the hands of the Lord. Thus shall they "exalt him," according to the admonition of the Psalmist, "in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders!" And let each one say, with David,

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'my praise shall be of Thee in the great congregation; I will pay my vows before them that fear him." For truly, For truly, "it is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should, at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto thee, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty and everlasting God," because of thy loving-kindness and wonderful works to us, the children of men!

The various considerations which have now engaged our attention, relating to the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep, as beheld by seafaring men-suggest to us a spiritual application of the whole subject. "There is a ship, in which we are all embarked; there is a troubled sea, on which we all sail; there are storms, by which we are frequently overtaken; and there is a haven," which every wise adventurer on the sea desires to behold and enter." For the Church of Christ may be compared to a ship; the world to a sea; temptations and persecutions, afflictions and dangers to the waves of it; Satan, the Prince of the power of the air, may

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be likened to the stormy wind that raiseth the waves; and heaven to that desired port'* where is eternal security and blessedness.

Brethren; as you are all embarked on this dangerous voyage, and as all of you, in a greater or less degree, have encountered its alarming storms, let me now enquire, Whether the dangers you have experienced have made you cry unto the Lord to bring you to the heavenly haven? Whether every storm has directed your thoughts to Him that raised it? Whether every deliverance has called forth your gratitude to Him who regarded you in your distresses? Let me solemnly ask you, Whether these exhibitions of peril and mercy have had their proper influence in determining your choice as to the course you shall steer, with the blessing of God, for the rest of your lives? Whether you have both begun to pursue the right way, and are now pursuing it? In plain language, I ask, Is your head towards heaven or hell? But I shall assist you in determining. If you are drifting before the wind and tide of your sinful passions; if you are trusting unskilful nature at the helm;-be assured, your course is towards destruction! But if you are striving against the lee current of your lusts; if you are beating hard against the foul breeze of

*

Bishop Horne on the Psalms: Psalm cvii.

Satan; if the word of God be your chart and sailing directions; if the Holy Spirit be the magnetic influence by which you steer, and Christ the skilful pilot on whom you rely for the success of your voyage, then would I say, be of good cheer-"be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."

And reflect, my seafaring brethren, how it behoves you, who carry, as it were, you lives in your hands, to consider your ways and your doings. If there be a voice in every storm, and in every calamity you witness and hear of, how often must that heavenly voice have been heard by you, during your adventurous lives! Surely, the frightful gales that have howled the funeral knell of so many suffering seamen, have sounded the alarm in the ears of every impenitent sinner! Surely, the winter-like blasts that have marred the calmness of our summer seas, have expressed to our hearts the anger of the Lord, with a terrific voice, against the wicked!* Brethren; let the frequent losses among our shipping, and the many sufferers among your fellow-seamen, solemnize every heart, and make you in earnest about the safety of your souls. It is an alarming thing to suffer shipwreck; it is an awful thing to perish

* This discourse was originally preached at the close of a very tempestuous summer.

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