[Page]
Job XXIV.19.
He is swift as the Waters; their Portion is cursed in the Earth; he beholdeth not the way of the Vineyards.
Thus Paraphrased by the Incomparable Sir
Richard Blackmore.
TO this vile Crue you may the PIRATE add
Who puts to Sea the Merchant to invade,
And reaps the Profit of another's Trade.
He sculks behind some Rock, or swiftly flies
From Creek to Creek, rich Vessels to surprize.
By this ungodly Course the Robber gains,
And lays up so much Wealth, that he disdains
And mocks the poor, unprofitable Toil,
Of those, who plant the Vine, or till the Soil.
[Page 1]
A Remarkable RELATION OF A
Cockatrice crush'd in the Egg.
A Vessel of that sort which they call, a
Snoe, belonging to certain Merchants in
Bristol, and commanded by
John Green, of that City, sailed from
Jamaica, some time in
April, 1726. bound for
Guinea. The Boatswain,
William Fly, having before concerted with some aboard, (in a way of Revenge, they said, for
Bad Usage) the Destruction of the
Master and the
Mate, and the proper
Consequences, on May 27. about One a Clock in the Morning, he, with one
Alexander Mitchel, went into the Cabin, and siezing on the Master, held his Hands, while
Mitchel wounded him. Then they hawled him up; who perceiving their Intention to throw him overboard, beg'd,
For the Lord's sake, don't throw me overboard; For if you do, you throw me into Hell immediately. But
Fly bid him say,
Lord, Have Mercy on my Soul! And when he siezed the Mainsheets with his Hand, to prolong his Time, the merciless Monsters, with a Cooper's Broad-axe, cut off his Hand, and threw him over-board. While this was a doing, one
Samuel Cole, presently assisted with
Mitchel and one
Winthrop, secured the Mate, whose Name was
[Page 2]
Thomas Jenkins, and brought him upon Deck, telling him,
that he should go after the Master. Accordingly, having first cut him down the Shoulder with a Broad-axe, they threw him over, just before the Main Shrouds. After he was thrown over, he cried out unto the Doctor,
For the Lord's sake, to fling him a Rope. But
Fly soon secured the Doctor, and put him in Irons; and confined the Gunner also and the Carpenter, who were not for their Turn.
Two Days after this, they met one of the Ships, that came out in Company with
Green, and hailing them, ask'd, How Captain
Green did. They answered,
Very well! At your Service! But upon consulting, whether they had best attack that Ship, they left her, in Consideration, That they had not Hands enough to Man her. So, they bore away for
North-Carolina; Where, off Cape
Hattaras Bar, on June 3. there lay a Sloop at Anchor, whereof the Commander was one whose Name is
Fulker. Some of the Sloop's Hands went aboard
Fly, who was now become the Captain of the
Snoe, supposing them to want a Pilot.
Fly commanded
Fulker aboard, and informed him,
They were Gentlemen of Fortune; and let him know, that they must have the
Sloop, if it sailed better than the
Snoe. The contrary Winds rendring the
Sloop unable to be brought off, our New Captain fell into a great Passion, and swore he would burn her, and bringing
Fulker to the Geers, (who it seems, unadvisedly provoked them) inflicted a severe Scourging upon him. The Boats Crue, could not bring the
Sloop any further than the Bar, but there she bilg'd and sank: and the Pirates endeavoured then to set
[Page 3] her on Fire, but could not make the Fire to take.
Fulker and his Men, and his Passengers, were detained Prisoners by
Fly; But on June 5. they sailed from thence; and on the Day following they saw a Ship commanded by one whose Name is
Gale, bound from
Barbados to
Virginia. They could not come up with
Gale till the next Morning; when they hoisted their
Black Flag, and fired several Guns at the Ship; and there being little Wind▪
Gale struck; and
Fly made the Men his Prisoners; but robbed the Ship only of several Sails, and some Cloaths and small Arms; and after a Captivity of Two Days released them; at the same time giving
Fulker, and one of his Passengers, and a Servant, and
Green's Doctor, their Liberty. However they forceably detained one
William Atkinson, who had been Commander of a Brigantine, but left her for a Passage home in
Fulker, bound then for
Boston: And who had often declared, That if the
Pirates ever took him, he would humour them, till he could see his first Opportunity to rise upon them. They wanted him to be their
Pilot, for the Coast of
New-England; which they told him▪ he should be, or,
They would blow his Brains out. It seems, they forgot, how bad a Coast
New-England has been for
Pirates to come upon! Off of
Delaware Bay, they met a Sloop commanded by one
Harris bound from
New-York to
Pensilvania, having about Fifty Scotch-Irish Passengers aboard; which upon their hoisting of their
Black Flag Surrendred unto them. After they had a little ransack'd the Vessel, and kept her twenty four Hours, they forced a Lusty Blade, one
James Benbrook, from her, and so dismiss'd her.
Fly bore away for
Martha's Vineyard, pretending
[Page 4] to Water there, and so away for
Guinea; But the
Pilot purposely miss'd the port, (whereat
Fly was very angry,) and on June 23. bearing Eastward, they mett with a
Fishing Schooner, on
Browns Bank; from which upon
Fly's hoisting his
Black Flag, and threatning to sink her, the Master came aboard them, &
Fly told him, he must have the
Schooner, unless he could inform him, where to get a better Sailor. About Noon, they saw some other
Schooners; and
Fly sent that
Schooner with seven hands after them.
Fly (who had now entirely sold himself to the God of
Ekron,) and Three other Pirates, whereof one (
Samuel Cole aforesaid, was in Irons upon Suspicion of Mutiny, remained aboard the
Snoe; and fifteen others that had been taken by him; namely,
Fulkers Mate, a couple of his Boys,
Green's Gunner and Carpenter, five of
Gale's Men,
Benbrook, Three Fishermen belonging to the
Schooner, and our
Atkinson. While the
Pirates were gone upon their chase, there appeared in Sight several other Fishing-Vessels; and
Atkinson by telling
Fly what he saw, drew him forward, from his two Loaden
Guns, and
Sword, which he had with him; and while
Fly satt on the
Windlace with his Prospective-Glass,
Benbrook and
Walker, (who had been
Fulker's Mate) upon the Direction from
Atkinson, secured
Fly, and put him in Irons; and
Atkinson struck another of the
Pirates; and with the Help of the Carpenter, soon confined the other Two. Thus they made themselves Masters of the
Snoe; the rest of the Prisoners all the while standing unactive, not being made acquainted with the Design, which was now managing for their Deliverance.
[Page 5]On June 28. the Happy
Captors brought in their
New Captives; having
taken them Captives, whose Captives they were. So,
The Triumphing of the wicked, was
but for a moment.
And, the
Special Court of Admiralty which the
Act of Parliament has ordered for the Trial of
Pirates, [Whereof the chief Judge, was the Honourable WILLIAM DUMMER Esqr. the Lievtenant Governour, and Commander in Chief, of the
Massachuset-Province,] quickly tried these
Four Pyrates, and after plain and full Conviction, on July 3. pass'd the just
Sentence of Death upon them; namely, upon
William Fly, the upstart Captain, who was a Young man, about Seven and twenty years of old;
Henry Greenville, a married Man about foriy seven years of Age;
Samuel Cole, about Thirty seven years of Age, having a Wife and seven Children; And,
George Condick, a Youth of Twenty, or thereabouts.
They were now cast into a place, Where, besides the
prayers, which abundance of Godly Christians made for them, That in
the Destruction of the Flesh their
Spirit might be
Saved, great pains were taken, by the Ministers of City, to dispose them for a Return unto God.
Because, it may be Edifying to the
Survivers, whatever it might be unto the
Criminals, [Whereof one, appeared all along a very Hardened Wretch, and a Fearful Instance of Divine Dereliction,) here shall be inserted a Relation of
Two Conferences with them.
[Page 6]
A Conference, with the Pirates. July 6.
M. stands for
Minister. P. P. for
Pirates.
M.
UNhappy Men!— Yet not hopeless of Eternal Happiness!— A Marvellous Providence of GOD has put a
Quick stop to a swift Carriere you were taking in the
paths of the Destroyer. But had you been
at once cut off in your Wickedness, what had become of you? A merciful GOD has not only given you a
space to Repent, but has ordered your being brought into a place were such
means of Instruction will be Employ'd upon you, and such
pains will be taken for the Salvation of your Souls, as are not commonly Elsewere to be met withal, May this
Goodness of GOD lead you to Repentance! — Among other and greater proofs of This, you will accept the
Visit, which I now intend you.—
P. P.
We thank you, Syr.
M.
The poor men, whom you murdered, You
hurried out of the world; You allow'd
them no
space to Repent. They begg'd at least for a
little Time if you would not be disswaded from Killing them;—that you would not immediately bring on them the
Death, which with a prodigious Anguish, they told you, they were
unprepared for. A Gracious GOD has not so
hurried you out of the world, but given you some
Time, to
prepare for your
[Page 7]
Death. And verily, you must not think now to brave it out so sottishly and hardily, as I am told, some of you have made some Essay to do. You have now to do with an Infinite and an Almighty GOD. You must not think to Mock at the
Thunder of an Omnipotent GOD, or laugh at a
Damnation which now slumbers not. A most Holy GOD, whom you have provoked by horrid Crimes, and Offences that cannot be numbred, has evidently
begun to Execute his
Vengeance upon you. You yett see but the
beginnings of Sorrows, if you don't seasonably seek a
Deliverance from the wrath to come. Something within you, tells you, That the great GOD is
Angry with you; And,
who knows the power of His Anger! You are going to appear before a Glorious GOD, with
whom there is a Terrible Majesty. You are within a very few Days, to be thrown into those
Hands, which if you dy in Ill Terms with Heaven, you will find it
a fearful thing to fall into. Now, tis only in the Way of REPENTANCE, and in the Flight of a Repenting Soul, to a REDEEMER, that you can be saved from the inconceivably Miseries in the Future
State and
World which you are now presently to pass into. In these awful Circumstances, you are willing to be advised!
P. P.
Yes, Syr!—
M.
Your case is very Bad: Wretched, Forlorn beyond Expression. But, you must not look on it as
Desperate. You must not say,
Our Hope is lost. There is yet
Hope in Israel for you. 'Tis true, There's no
Hope of your
Living any longer in this World. Nor indeed have you ever yet
Lived. You are no longer capable of having that
Mercy shown you that shall prolong your
Life ▪ Your
Life here is
[Page 8] forfeited!
Humane Society has been so wrong'd by you, that you may not be suffered any longer to continue in it. But there is yet room for you to
Hope, and
look for the Mercy of the Lord JESUS CHRIST, in an Everlasting Life, And will not the Thought of This, wonderfully melt and break your Hearts within you! Tho' you have been so
wicked overmuch, that the Sword of Justice can do no other, than Cause you to
Dy before your Time, yet there is
Mercy with GOD for you, if you
Return to Him; yea, He will
Abundantly Pardon you; and you may after
Death be received into the
Rest and
Peace and
Joy of an Heavenly
Paradise: And the great REDEEMER, will
Remember you, [as He will a Penitent
Thief!] when he
comes in His Kingdom, and in the
Resurrection of the Dead
Remember you with the
Favour which He bears unto His People. Will you then with awakened Souls, attend unto what I am going to set before you; and will you
set your Hearts unto it?
P. P.
We hope, we shall.
M.
You have something within you, that will compell you to confess, That the Things which you have done, are most
Unreasonable and
Abominable. The
Robberies and
Piracies, you have committed, you can say nothing to
Justify them.
P. P.
No, Syr, Not a word!
M.
It is a most hideous Article in the Heap of Guilt lying on you, that an Horrible
Murder is charged upon you; There is a cry of
Blood going up to Heaven against you.
P. P.
[Under all the marks of Confusion.]
Fly said, I
can't charge my self with Murder. I did not strike and wound the Master or Mate! It was Mitchel
did it!—
[Page 9]The rest said,
There was a Murder; and whatever Mitchel
and this Man did, we were aiding and assisting to it. And it is the dreadfullest of all the Things we have to think of.
M.
Fly, I am astonished at your stupidity. I cannot understand you. I am sure, you don't understand yourself. I shall be better able, another time to reason with you.
Fly said,
It is very strange another should know more of me, than I do of myself. There are False Oathes ta-against me.
M.
You can't wonder at it, if Mankind agrees to treat you as the
Common Enemies of Mankind. You can't complain of it, if the Government pass a
Sentence of Death upon you.
P. P.
No, Syr, we can't.—
M.
Certainly, The GOD of Heaven has been greatly Offended at you, for some Things in your former Conversation. Certainly you
sinned Grievously, before you were left unto the Crimes, which have now brought such a Tragical End upon you. Certainly, you have by some Extraordinary Gratifications of the
Devil, procured his having such an
Advantage on you, and such a
possession of you, as appeared in your being thus
Led Captive by him to do his will. What is it in your
former Life, that lies now most heavy upon you? Say,
Fly.
P.
My horrid Swearing and Cursing.
M.
Say,
Cole.
P.
My Swearing and Cursing, and my Drunkenness.
M.
Say,
Greenville.
P.
I must say the like, my Swearing and Cursing, and my Drunkenness.
M.
Say,
Condick.
P.
[Page 10]
Fly,
Syr, He is a poor Creature, He knows nothing! — If he ever Learnt any Catechism, he has forgott it all.
M.
Alas, what shall I do? — I will talk more
Separately with him, another time. In the mean time, Do you,
Condick, Mind as well as you can, what I say to these. I will speak so plainly to
them, if it be possible, that
you may understand it.
You are all Sensible, That there lies upon you a Necessity to
Turn and
Live unto GOD.
P. P.
Yes, Syr.
M.
Do you feel, that you
cannot of yourselves, (or if He don't help you,)
Turn and
Live unto him?
P. P.
Yes, Syr.
M.
Do you own, that you are
not worthy of his Help; no, that He may
justly withhold from you, the Influences of His
Grace, which you have despised!
P. P.
Yes, Syr.
M.
This
Humiliation must be laid in the Foundation, of your
Conversion to GOD. And now, you acknowledge, That you have broken all the
Commandments of the Glorious GOD.
P. P.
Yes, Syr.
M.
You will, by'nd by take the
Catechism, and see what is
Forbidden and what is
Required in the
Ten Commandments, and examine what your
Miscariages have been, in each of the points referr'd unto. — But know, That in all your Sins, you have
Denied the GOD that is above; trampled on your SAVIOUR; Vexed His Holy SPIRIT; pleas'd the
Devil; and brought Mischiefs and Ruines on yourselves. In every Sin, you have done,
An Horrible Thing! And, you have
done very foolishly. You think so.
P. P.
[Page 11]
We do so.
M.
But now, you must go back, and go down, to the
Root of all your
Wickedness. The sin of your
First Parents in eating the
Forbidden Fruit, was a very
Vile Rebellion against the Glorious GOD.
You were in that Rebellion. From hence there is derived unto you a
Corruption that is the very
Image of
Satan, whom you in your
First Parents did hearken to. All the Faculties of your Souls are depraved and enfeebled in this Corruption. You have in you an
Heart that is
desperately wicked; an
Heart fully set in you to do evil. If you have been
Restrained from any
actual Enormities, it is not because you have not had an
Heart inclined that way, but because GOD has
witheld you from sinning against Him. You have in you a Disposition to,
All manner of sin! You are aware of This.
P. P.
We believe it.
M.
By these things, you Deserve all the
Sad Things, which have ever yet befallen you, from the Hand of an Offended GOD. Yea, you deserve all the
strange Punishment reserved for the workers of Iniquity, in that
Hell which the word of GOD has called,
The place of Torment.
P. P.
We do.
M.
Now,
How shall you escape the Damnation of Hell? Hear with Astonishment, the good and glad Tidings which I am to bring you; The
Gospel which is to be
preached unto Every Creature! — The Eternal SON of GOD, the second of the Three Persons in the eternal Godhead, has taken the Man JESUS into one Person with Himself▪ This GOD-MAN, has placed Himself in the Room of His people. The
Law of GOD is armed with
[Page 12] a
Penalty. The
Penalty is the Destruction of the Sinner. It must be Executed; There can be no dispensing with it. But our good GOD has allow'd of it, that His JESUS undergo the
Penalty of the Violated
Law for us. He has undergone it. He
Dyed in our stead. He became a
Sacrifice for us. There fell upon Him the
Punishment that was due to us for our Sin. When we come to plead This, as we ought to do, GOD will Release us from the
Punishment. Now mind Exceedingly! — You must cast yourselves in the Dust before the Lord, and weep to Him with unspeakable Agony, and plead at this rate before Him; —
O Great GOD; Let me escape the Death due to me for my Sin, because my SAVIOUL has Dyed for me. Let the Blood which my SAVIOUR shed for His People, procure my Salvation from what my Sin has expos'd me to.— You will try to plead thus, and so Hope for
Mercy, with a GOD
Ready to Pardon.
P. P.
We hope, we shall.
M.
You must now Remember, That the
Gates of the
Holy City, will
stand open for none but the
Righteous Nation. The
Law of GOD will shut those
Gates upon all that can't show a
Righteousness, which will fully come up to all the Demands of it. You must be owners of a
Righteousness, which has no Imperfection in it, or the
Law of GOD which is the Everlasting and Unalterable
Rule of it, will never admit you into
Blessedness. What will you do in this awful case?
P. P.
Repentance will do for us, instead of it.
M.
No, It won't. — But, mind the only
Refuge, you must fly to. Oh! Fly to the
City of Refuge, that is now to be set open for you. Even
Wilful
[Page 13] Murderers, may enter there. — Our SAVIOUR is become our
Surety. He had a most
Holy Heart; He led a most
Holy Life; He yielded a most perfect obedience to the
Law of GOD. No
Fault could ever be found in Him. This was to produce a
Righteousness, for His People, Renouncing all Dependance on their own, to plead for their Acceptance with GOD. It was
He that
made the
Law. It was for
our sake that He put Himself under it. You never can make yourselves a
Righteousness. You, of all Men Living, are Spoilt for
That! But now,
O what an Amazing Thing! You, as wretched as you are, have this
Righteousness provided for you. You have now a Tender of it, as a
Cord thrown out unto a drowning Man.
You! —that were far from throwing out a
Cord unto the poor Men, whom you cast into the Ocean to perish there! — Oh! Lay hold on this precious
Cord; and thus pour out your Tears before the Lord.
O Holy GOD, Tho' I am the most unrighteous Wretch that ever appear'd before thee, yet I desire JESUS CHRIST the Righteous, to be my Advocate in the Heavens. That Righteous One has been and has done all that thy Law calleth for. For the sake of that Righteousness, Oh! Let the Blessedness of the Righteous, be what this Lothsome Sinner shall arrive unto! Will you
Consider what I say, and beg of the Lord, that He would give the
understanding of it.
P. P.
We hope we shall.
M.
Well; But if the
Offering of your SAVIOUR, do avail for you, there will be produced a
New Heart in you; Your
Heart will now close with GOD; and you will make the
Service of GOD, the the
Chief End and
Main Work of your Life. And
[Page 14] GOD will be to you, what you have heretofore vainly sought in
Creatures. The
Love of GOD will be
Rooted in your Souls; and all the
Branches of PIETY will be found growing upon it. You will say,
What have I any more to do with Idols? You will not
Sin, to please the
Flesh, or the
World, or the
Devil. You will
have Respect unto all the Commandments of GOD. This
Wisdom you
lack; Alas, Destitute have you been of it, all your Days! But, the Direction is,
If any Man lack Wisdom, let him ask it of GOD! Send up then, Oh! send up a Cry that shall pierce the Heavens;
Lord, Bestow a New Heart upon me! You must always remember,
Without Holiness no Man shall see the Lord. You cannot be Received into the
Heavenly World, if you have not first an
Heavenly Heart. Heaven could not bear
you to be in it; Nay, which is a dreadful word,
You could not bear to be in
Heaven, if you have not another
Biass prevailing on your
Heart, than what you have had, while you have been
Wandring from the Way of understanding, and
going astray from GOD in the Greatness of your Folly. You must therefore most Earnestly Beseech your SAVIOUR, to
Unite you unto Himself, & by His Good SPIRIT
Quicken you for
Living unto GOD: and
fulfil in you all the good pleasure of His Goodness.
Thus, I have in a
few words given you the
Sum of the Matter; which I hope, you will
Think over, when I am departed from you. For
one Conference, thus much may be Enough, if you will try when I am withdrawn, to
go over the
Way of Life that has been set before you.
I will at this Time add only this
One Remark. If you come to the
Repentance that is unto
Salvation, it
[Page 15] will appear, in
Dispositions, that will be the Reverse of Those, which have push'd you on, to the
Sins Repented of. I'l Illustrate it, with Two Instances.
First, That which push'd you on to Robberies and Piracies, was an Immoderate, Inordinate, Irregular Desire of
Worldly Possessions. Now, if you
Repent, you will have a Disposition patiently to bear any
Wants and
Straits, that GOD may order for you; and rather suffer any
Poverty and all sorts of
Difficulties, than Sin, or do any Unlawful Thing, to gain the World. In this point how do you find yourselves disposed?
P.
Fly, — Be sure, I have nothing more to Expect from the World.
Co. and, Gr:
We
hope, we should never do as we have done.
M.
Secondly, That which has push'd you on to
Murders, as well as
Robberies and
Piracies, was an
Hatred of your
Brother, 'Tis what you have carried on to the last Extremity, A most
Finished Hatred; Now if you Repent, you will have a Disposition full of
Benignity; Good will towards Men, will sweeten your Minds; You will have an Hearty
Love to your Neighbour. You will
Wish well to every one, whose
Welfare, is Consistent with the public Safety.
Now, shall I Enquire after this point also; How you find yourselves disposed in it? Say—
Fly particularly, Do you say; Are there any in the world, which you don't wish well to.
P.
Fly.
Yes; There is one Man, that I don't, and I can't wish well to! It is a Vain Thing to ly, If I should say, that I forgive that Man, and that I wish him well,
[Page 16] I should ly against my Conscience, and add Sin to Sin.
M.
Alas, Man, Thou dost
add Sin to Sin. To bear
Malice against your Neighbour, or be unable
wish him well, tho' it be not a
Lye, yet it is as great a
Sin as a
Lye. But you must part with
all Sin, if you would find the
Mercy and have the
Comfort of a
Penitent. The Great GOD has over and over again required you to
put away all Malice, and
lay aside all Malice. Yea, the SON of GOD, the
True witness, who delivereth Souls, has expresly told you,
That if you do not Forgive, you shall not be forgiven. I hope, the
Lords-Prayer is not forgotten with you. Our Lord has taught us to pray,
Forgive us as we forgive. I hope, you
pray according to that
Prayer.
P.
Fly.
Yes, I do! —But for all that, I cannot Forgive that Man. GOD Almighty Revenge me on him! — 'Tis a Vain thing — I won't dy with a Lye in my mouth,
M.
Thou talkest like a Madman! — I hope that you will take pains with your own Heart, and cry to God for the Help of His Grace, that you may be disposed, as you know you should be; and that I shall find you in a
Better Frame, when I come again to Visit you.
I hope, I
now find the rest of you so.
P.
P. Co. and Gr.
We heartily forgive all the World; and wish well to every Man.
M.
I have Supplied you with several Books of PIETY, to assist you in your Preparation for the Death before you. I hope, you allow some Time to a Serious Perusal of them. One of them, is Entituled,
The Converted Sinner; and was occasion'd, by the last Predecessors you had in the state and place you are now brought into.
P.
[Page 17]
Fly.
I read that Book before ever I was brought hither!
M.
—And yet, come
hither! An Aggravation of the Crimes that have brought you
hither!
—But, above all; You have the Holy BIBLE in your Hands. 'Tis the
Word of Life. Oh! Read it, and Learn from it how to call upon the GOD, that speaks unto you in it. Particularly, Meditate on the
Fifty first Psalm, and let that
Psalm teach you how to
pray under your
Blood-guiltiness. But whatever
Form of Prayer may be commended unto you, see that it be always the
Prayer of the Soul, which you address to the Glorious GOD: The
Prayer of a Soul, full of
Agony, Mourning for your Sin, —
Wo is unto me that I have Sinned, and Groaning to your SAVIOUR, O
Wretched one that I am, Wilt thou Deliver me!
We will now
pray with you and for you.—
[Page 18]
A Second Conference. July. 9.
M.
ACcording to your Desire, which I am always ready unto the best of my power to Gratify, I have used my humble Intercessions, with His Honour the Lieu. Governour, to grant you a Reprieve of Two or Three Days, that you may have Time to make more Thorough Work, in the
Process of Repentance which is,
The one Thing that is Needful for you. He is a Person every where known to be of an
Excellent Spirit, and as he is one of unspotted
Equity, so he is one of uncommon
Clemency. It afflicts him, that he cannot grant you such a
Small Releef, but, as the
Special Court by which the
Time and
Place of your
Death, were Agreed, Voted, and accordingly Registred, is now dissolved, he apprehends it improper for him
now, to alter any thing about it.
But in
this very Thing, you may now see the Hand of an Holy and a Righteous GOD, obliging you in some Degree to say,
As I have done so GOD has Requited me! The Men whom you Murdered,
they begg'd,
they pleaded,
they with the
Groans of a Deadly wounded Man importun'd you, that you would Allow them a
Little Time, and not hurry them out of the World. But,
Unmerciful Creatures, You were Inexorable. — And now, you Petition for a
Little Time; and so has the Glorious GOD ordered
[Page 19] it, that it
cannot be granted you. May
this very Thing help to awaken the Sentiments of
Repentance in you. Especially since the
Long-suffering of GOD, has allow'd more than a
Fortnights Time of
Recollection, to you that would not allow a
Moments Time, to them whose
Blood is crying to Him against you.
And now,
Fly; I hope, you are come to a
Better Frame, than what I lately left you in.
F.
I am where I was.
M.
I am sorry for it. What? Is not your Heart yet prevailed withal, to let the Leaven of
Malice be purged out of it? Can't you
dy, wishing
well to every one?
F.
'Tis a Vain Thing to dissemble. No; I can't. There are those, that I can't Forgive.
M.
But you
must; and you must Resign your Heart up to your SAVIOUR, that by the Influences and Assistences of His
Grace, you
may.
F.
But I can't. — And I won't go out of the World, with a ly in my mouth.
M.
What Criminal and prodigious
Nonsence are you guilty of! —And yet you'l
go out of the World, with what is
as Bad in your
Heart; Even with
Murder there, You will
go out of the World, in a plain
Rebellion against a Command of GOD our SAVIOUR, the Glorious One, who is the
Judge of the World; whose
Judgment-Seat you must appear before.
Has not the Great GOD our SAVIOUR, Expresly commanded you,
To forgive, even the greatest of Enemies and of Injuries; and set before you an admirable and most Imitable
Example of doing so? Dare you to
Dy, persisting in a plain and a known
Disobedience to Him? Can you imagine, that
[Page 20] He will be the
Author of an
Eternal Salvation for you, if you flatly refuse to
Obey Him? O Vain Imagination! O Vile Imagination!
And I pray what, have you to say of the Government?
F.
GOD Reward them according to their Deserts.
M.
You must not go on in this Impiety.
F.
I can't help it!
M.
But, you must get
Help for it. Certainly, you pretend some Hope to be
Forgiven by GOD. Have not you
wrong'd the Great GOD of Heaven infinitely more, than it is possible for any
Man and
Worm upon Earth, to
Wrong you?
F.
Be sure!
M.
Will you then hope to have
Ten Thousand Talents frankly
forgiven to
you, & not forgive the
Farthing, which is the most of the
wrong that can be done to you? Nay, The Man that you say, has done you the greatest
Wrong, has in Reality done you, what would prove the greatest
Kindness and
Service that could be done you, if you would wisely make a due Improvement of it. He has put a stop to a
Course of
Wickedness, in which you were apace running on Headlong to
Hell. He has brought you into the way of
Repentance &
Salvation. You may Bless GOD forever, for what you call the
Wrong that has been done you; and, if you be not a
Madman, you will do so.
F.
I must be where I am. 'Tis in vain to say any more.
M.
I will say thus much more; and the Blood of your Soul would ly upon me, if I should not say it. If you go away in this obstinacy, you cannot look for any other, but that
He who made you
[Page 21] will not have Mercy on you, and He who formed you will shew you no Favour.
I will pass from This, to another Matter, wherein I hope to see some
Relentings begun upon you. Your
Murders, your Cruel and Bloody
Murders!—
F.
I can't Charge myself, — I shan't own myself Guilty of any Murder, — Our Captain and his Mate used us Barbarously. We poor Men can't have Justice done us. There is nothing said to our Commanders, let them never so much abuse us, and use us like Dogs. But the poor Sailors —
M.
What's this, to clearing you of the horrid
Murders you stand convicted of?
F.
I never Struck, either of the Persons!
M.
You held the Captains Hands down, while
Mitchel struck him:
F.
No, 'Twas to Save him from the strokes.
M.
And hawle him out of the Cabin, and throw him overboard!
But who
plotted the
Revolution aboard the Ship? a Day or Two before! What was your
Intention about the Captain and the Mate, when you should sieze them? Why did you carry
Mitchel, with his Broad-Axe into the
Cabin? Who threw the Captain and the Mate overboard?
If
Mitchel was the only
Murderer, why did you not sieze him, and reserve him for
Justice? Were the
Murders, any other than one Article, in the
Complicated Plot of
Piracy, which you were now upon? Every step that any one of you all, took in the
Piracy you have been prosecuting, involved you all in the
Murders, which the
Piracy begun withal?
And, who was it that gave the Ghostly Advice to the Captain, how to make
Sufficient Preparation for
[Page 22] the Eternal World? I hope, you now think, a more
preparation to be Necessary.
F.
I shan't own my self Guilty. False Oathes are taken against me!
—
Cole now said,
I desire to be removed out of the Room; I can't bear to stay and hear, my Guilty Companion, so stand upon his Innocence. He and we are all verily Guilty. And there's the Blood of the Captain yet in the Cabin, crying against us.
—
Greenville Concurr'd unto what he said.
M.
Miserable Man, You know the Word of GOD,
That no Murderer has Eternal Life. And
Murders cannot be
pardoned, if they be not Confessed, Bewailed, and Repented of.
We can do no more, but with
Tears [which, alas, you have not for yourself!] Lament the unaccountable and unparallel'd
Obduration that you are given up unto; and Beseech you to
Consider your ways; and send up our Cries unto the GOD of all Grace, to bestow a
New, and a
Right, and a
Soft Heart upon you.
I have done with you, any further than to ask your Attention unto the brief
Instructions, which your
Three Brethren here are now expecting of me.
Poor
Sons of Death; Be attentive to the
Words of Life; and Hearken as for Eternity.
You are in most affecting Circumstances. If you Dy two or three Days hence, in ill Terms with Heaven, you will be doom'd and thrown into Miseries, inconceivably more grievous, than any things which you ever have in this World been vexed withal. Your
Spirits will be continually tortured with the furious and rending Scourges of a
Guilty Conscience. An Infinite GOD will arm your
Conscience
[Page 23] to make direful Reflections on your past Misbehaviours. You will fall into the Hands of
Devils; you may guess a little, how
they will handle you, by
your way of handling one another. Your Filthy
Bodies will after a long period be
Raised, that in them you may
receive according to what you have done in Them. How tremendous
pains, will be then inflicted on you! Yea, The
Lord GOD Omnipotent will not only Banish you from all comfortable Enjoyments, but with more immediate Impressions of His Wrath, make you the Everlasting Triumphs of His Vengeance, and shoot intolerable Coruscations of it into your Enlarged Minds, and keep all the Anguish of a Tormenting Fire upon them. Verily, He will
Punish like a GOD; And you will find a
Strange Punishment reserved for the workers of Iniquity. Can you hear this, and not cry out;
O Lord, My Flesh trembles for fear of thee, and I am afraid of thy Judgments!
But then, if before you
Dy, you do in the Methods of a
Repenting Faith get your
Pardon Sealed, and your Souls taken into the Saving and Healing Hands of that
Good One, whose Call now unto you, is,
Look unto me, and be Saved: Your Expired
Spirits, will be taken into the
Paradise of GOD. And the REDEEMER will anon
Raise you from the
Dead, and make you partakers of the
Spiritual Blessings in the Heavenly places. Tho' you have been the Companions of
Robbers, you shall then be the Companions of
Angels; yea, you shall
Inherit all things, and be
Filled with all the Fulness of GOD. The Things to be done for you, are beyond what the
Heart of Man can conceive.
You are not strangers to what we read of a
Menasseh,
[Page 24] in his
Chains, returning to GOD. Oh! may you do and fare like him!
One, who had been a very wicked Man, dying in this Country, after the standers-by took him to be
Dead, revived so far, as to start up in his Bed, & cry out,
O! All Heaven rings with it; A Great and
[...] Old Sinner, coming to Heaven! As wicked as you have been, [
wicked overmuch, and now to
Dy before your Time for being so!] yet before
Tuesday night,
Heaven, Heaven, will be filled with the
High-praises of GOD, and there will be
Joy among the Angels for your Arrival there!
And now,
First,
Cole, Do you answer me distinctly; answer me to such Tings as these.
[
The Answers, being mostly but words of Compliance, there will be no need of Reciting them, and Repeting them.]
'Tis by coming into the
Covenant of GOD and of
Grace, that you are to
Lay hold on Eternal Life. Behold, the meaning of that
Covenant, and the manner of coming into it.
You must apprehend, That the Eternal SON of GOD, has in a
Covenant with His Eternal FATHER, engaged, That He will bring His People to
Blessedness; — bring them to all the
Good, which a GOD of Infinite
Goodness, has purposed for them. You are apprehensive of
This. —
One Thing Engaged by our Lord-REDEEMER, is, To offer up a
Sacrifice unto
Divine Justice to make Atonement for them; and undergo the sad Things which are due to them for their Sins, that so they may be delivered from them. And therewithal, To Obey the
Law of GOD, and so
[Page 25] work out, and bring in a
Righteousness, that shall be Reckoned Their's; for
them to be dealt withal according to it. This is already done; Is it not?
Now, Do you
Consent, unto This; To be
Forgiven of GOD, on the account of the
Sacrifice your SAVIOUR has presented for you?
Do you
Consent unto This; To be
Accepted with GOD, on the account of the
Righteousness with which your SAVIOUR does furnish you? And, You have no other
Hope! — no other
Plea!
Well; But another Thing Engaged by our Lord-REDEEMER is, To make suitable Impressions on the
Souls of His Chosen; To fill them with the
Love of GOD and their Neighbour; To
Heal all that is amiss in them; To
Quicken them for Living to GOD; And
work in them what is
well pleasing in the sight of GOD; and Conform them to His
Will in every thing; and render all
Sin Odious to them; and incline them to every thing that is
Holy and
Just and
Good; and fit them for, and bring them to, the
Heavenly world.
For
you, This remains to be done. Do you
consent, That He'l do all this for you, and in you?—
Do you Resign yourself up to His Holy SPIRIT, that He may do so? —
Instead of saying,
I will Fear GOD and Serve Him, do you say,
O my SAVIOUR, I desire, that by Thee Living in me, I may Fear GOD, and Serve Him!
So, you are willing, that your SAVIOUR
fulfil in you and for you, all the Good pleasure of His Goodness!
If your
Heart be in This, then you are in the
Covenant of GOD!
[Page 26]Now,
Greenville, Do you distinctly answer me to such things as these. There are Two
Adams. The
First Adam, who has been our unhappy
Father; and
Second Adam who is our Almighty SAVIOUR.
The
Conversion to GOD, without which, you
Perish Wonderfully and Eternally, lies in your Translation from the
First Adam, to the
Second Adam.
You are sensible, That the
First Adam, whom the Great GOD constituted the
Head of His offspring, Sinn'd against his GOD, in eating the
Forbidden Fruit. —
An
horrible Sin it was!
It is
your Sin;
You had your part in it. GOD justly reckons it yours! —
Your
First Father ceasing to be what he should be, there is derived from him to you, a
Base Nature. Your Nature is depraved. All your
Faculties are enfeebled, and corrupted. You have now an
evil Disposition in you. — prone to
all Evil. — Full of
Enmity to GOD. — poisoned by the
Devil. — In his
Image.
You feel This. —
Under the Efficacy of this
Evil Principle, you have trespassed against the Laws of GOD, in
Actual Sins, — Many, — Heinous, — All of them inexcusable. —
They render you worthy of all the
Sorrows you have met withal! — yea, worthy of all
the great Plagues and of long Continuance, in another world.
All this while, you have been a
Slave to Satan, — Serving diverse Lusts? — In Hourly Danger of being thrown where the
Smoke of the Torment ascends forever and ever?
You feel this, — own it, — Count your condition very miserable.
[Page 27]You dare not continue in it. You tremble at the Thoughts of lying under the
Curse of GOD.
Then, Be astonished; And, Oh!
Receive not the Grace of GOD in Vain.
The Blessed JESUS is the
Second Adam. And since He is GOD as well as
Man, He is more Able to
Relieve you, than the
First Adam could be to Ruine you.
You hear Him inviting of you, to come under the
shadow of His wings.
You are made willing to do so; — And be
Found in Him: — And be
Drawn by Him. — You can't come if He don't help you.
You are willing, That as the Sin of your
First Father is imputed unto you, so that what your SAVIOUR has
done and
born for His People, should be yours: — Availeable for you! — And
you be saved from the
Curse, because
He has been
made a Curse for you.
You are also willing, That your SAVIOUR should make a
New Creature of you; — Stamp
His Image upon you, and make you to
Hate what He hates, and
Love what He loves, and bring you to be all that He would have you to be?
You commit your self into His Precious Hands, that it may be so?
— I leave you in those Hands; and ask you accompany the
Prayers that we shall now proceed unto. —
[Page 28]
WISDOM In the
Latter End.
A SERMON occasion'd by the Condition of the Condemned Pirates,
July 10. 1726.
Job IV.21.
They Dy even without Wisdom.
THe Greatest
Unhappiness imaginable! And yet such as the most of Men are overtaken withal. To prevent such an
Unhapness, as it would be the brightest
Wisdom, that any Man alive can attain unto, so it should be the liveliest
Care that every Man living shall have his Mind concern'd about. It is impossible to begin this Care
too soon. It is impossible to pursue this Care
too much. Except this be a Mans
Chief Care, it is impossible to escape the formidable
Unhappiness. I have before me the most
Important Subject in the World. We cannot
Preach too
frequently
[Page 29] or too
fervently on the Subject. You cannot
hear too
Attentively. I bring you this Day, those
Maxims of Wisdom, which will require the greatest
Attention from you. We are a Congregation of
Dying People. The Danger of our
Dying without Wisdom, 'tis incident unto us; 'tis threatning of us; we cannot be too
deeply affected with it. We
live without Wisdom, if we are not very
deeply affected with it!
A
Comparison is instituted between
Angels and
Men; to prove, That if
Angels must abase themselves before GOD, and lay aside all boasting pretensions to
perfection, much more must Men do so. The Children of
Men on Earth are on many Accounts
inferiour to the
Angels of God, in Heaven. The
Inferiority is particularly conspicuous, in our
Mortality. And indeed, we are not only
Mortal Creatures, but our
Death is attended with some very Humbling Circumstances. First, when men
Dy, they are stript of that
Excellency which makes them valuable among the Living. Tho' men may
Excel never so much, in
Strength or in
Beauty, in
Wealth or in
Honour; in
Learning or in
Authority; They are carried
Naked unto the Grave.
Death, deprives them, disrobes them, of those things for which they were esteemed
Excellent. Indeed there is one
Excellency, which if Men had it, would
Abide with them, when they
Dy, and would
outlive their
Death. True
Wisdom would do so. But now, Secondly, Behold, how
unhappy the most of Men are in this thing,
They Dy without Wisdom. And this is that awful
Doctrine, which I am to insist upon.
[Page 30]Let Men be never so wise, they are to Dy; but the most of Men are so unhappy as to be found without Wisdom when they Dy.
No
Wisdom can deliver any Man from
Death; But it is a fearful wretchedness attending the
Death of many Men, that they come to it
without Wisdom.
I. The first Thing before us is, The
Unhappiness of
All Men; which yet unto some who have a part in a Great Saviour, in a great Measure ceases to be an
Unhappiness. Whatever
Wisdom there be in any Men,
Death is the unavoidable Portion of
all Men. There is no
Wisdom that will keep off the Stroke of
Death. So some take the meaning of this Clause. In the Original it runs,
They Dy, and there is not Wisdom in them; that is, no
Wisdom to send off the stroke of
Death. Nulla est Sapientia qua mortem Effugiant. So 'tis carried by Interpreters. The
wisdom of Men signifies no more to save them from Death, than if they had no
Wisdom. The
Wisdom of any Man will not give him any more priviledge, to Exempt him from
Death, than the veriest Fool in the World. We read, Eccl. 2.16.
How dyes the wise Man? even as the Fool. We read, Psal. 49.10.
Wise Men dy, likewise the Fool and the Brutish perish. It was of old said, concerning a
wise Man,
Died Abner as a Fool dieth? In some Sense he did so
Dy. The
Wisest Man in any Court or Colledge upon Earth, is as liable to
Death as the poorest Creature that comes within the statute of
Idiocy. We read, Heb. 9.27. —
'Tis appointed for Men once to Dy. The
Common Law of
Death is what every Man, must submit unto. The
Law runs,
All Titles, Dignities,
[Page 31] Preferments, Excellencies &c. to the Contrary, in any wise notwithstanding. 'Tis the
Common Lot of Mankind; of wise
Men, as well as others. They must be none but Egregious
Fools, who can dream of any Exemption from this
common Lot. Ah,
Foolish Wretch, and far gone in
Folly; shall the Earth be forsaken for thee; or shalt thou be permitted never to
forsake the Earth! And shall a Decree more Established than a
Rock, be
removed of its place, that thou mayst always continue in
thy place? No, we have the Summ of the Matter, and the Root of it. Rom. 5.12;
Wherefore, as by one Man Sin entred into the World, and Death by Sin; and so Death passed upon all Men, for that all have sinned.
First. No
Natural Wisdom will secure, or excuse any Man from
dying like all other Men. We read, 1 King. 11.43.
Solomon slept with his Fathers. Where is the
Politician, that can
Out-wit his
Last Enemy, or by his
Wit elude the Approaches of that
Enemy? What
Lawyer so Cunning as to
Quash the
Writ of Death? Academies are emptied of their Inhabitants, as well as
Hospitals. There is one honourable Tribe of Men, whose Profession 'tis to
prolong Life. But the
Physicians cannot instruct us how always to
prorogue Death. None of them can by any means redeem his Brother, or find out an
Elixir by which his Patient may
Live for ever, and not see Corruption. They sometimes put by a
Pass, which
Death is making at us; but let them
Fence never so Skilfully, anon
Death gives a
Home Thrust, and the Distrest
Physicians look on with troubled and grieved Eyes, and own,
We are now Physicians of no Value. They
dye themselves likewise; and none sooner, than they that like
Paracelsus, brag of their
Immortalizing Medicines.
[Page 32]Secondly. No, nor will
Religious Wisdom neither. We read, Josh. 1.2.
Moses my Servant is Dead. They that are
wise unto Salvation, yet will not by that
Wisdom Save themselves from
Temporal Death. Piety will deliver from the
Sting of
Death; but not from
Death it self.
Piety will deliver from the
second Death; but not from the
First Death. Piety will obtain a
Resurrection for us, that will bring us out of the
Grave; it will not obtain a
Preservation for us, that we shall not go into the
Grave. What Man is he that liveth, let him live never so piously, never so prayerfully, never so Fruitfully, who
shall not see Death, or deliver his Soul from the hand of the Grave? In fine, It was a Sentence in the Wisdom of the Ancients;
Is Vir non est, qui lapides atque edificia corruere, et homines mori miratur. The Man that wonders to see
Buildings fall, and
People dy, is not worthy the Name of a
Man. I remember
Posidonius in the Life of
Austin, tells us, how much that Great Man was affected with that Sentence, a little before his own going out of the World. May we
all, since we are all going out of the world, accustom ourselves to this Heart affecting
Meditation.
II. The second Thing before us, is, A much
worse unhpppiness that befalls the
most of men, and the
worst unhappiness that any Man can have befalling of him. The most of Men,
dy before they have arrived unto the only true
Wisdom. Few Men are
wise before they
Dy. Thus this clause is well carried by Expositors;
Prius moriuntur quam quicquam intellexerunt de Divina Sapientia. They
Dy before they know what
Wisdom is: They
dy strangers, to Divine, Real, Saving
Wisdom. All Men are,
born
[Page 33] Fools. We read, Job 11.12.
Born like the wild-Asses Colt. And the most of Men
Dy Fools. The
lives of Men are generally spent in
Folly. And they
dy before the cure of their
Folly.
We will Enquire; First,
Whence it proceeds, that the most of Men,
dy before they arrive unto
Wisdom? You may be sure, The
Fall of Man is the cause of this evil. Man was ambitious of
Wisdom. The Temptation of the
Forbidden Fruit was,
A Tree to be desired, to make one wise. But Man by his
Fall has lost his
Wisdom. A
Darkness is come upon his Mind. His perverse Mind is now naturally disposed unto
Error. He is naturally
Ignorant, and out of the way. His Faculties, to discern
wisely what is
Right and
Good, are horribly wounded by his
Fall from God. It is now come to pass, that the Children of Men come under that Character; Rom. 3.16.17. —
The way of Peace they have not know. And because the depraved Soul of Man
loves his
Error, therefore the Holy God
leaves him in it. Because he will not be reclaimed from it, God lets him go on in his
Error. Because he
hates the Light, God witholds it from him. He Delights in his
Darkness, & prefers and practises the
Works of Darkness; God therefore gives him up to his
Darkness. We may add, what we read; 2. Cor. 4.4.
The god of this world blinded their Minds. Satan is by the wrath of God, become the
Ruler of this Dark World. Men do by Sin put themselves under the Dominion of
Satan. Satan shuts his poor Slaves up in those
Dungeons, where the Rayes of
Wisdom do not reach them. Sinners enslaved by
Satan, may say of their Master,
He has laid me in the lowest Pitt, in Darkness, in the Deeps. They are by the Intrigues of
Satan, kept so
[Page 34] full of
Business, and carried unto such a
Distance from God, that they can't see things in a
True light. So they go down to the
Generation of their Foolish
Fathers, and
they never see light.
Secondly. We will Enquire,
How it appears, that the most of Men
Dy before they arrive unto
Wisdom. There needs no stronger, nor no sadder proof of this, than what we have in the Daily
Complaints of
Dying Men. Some
Dy with very little sense of what has been amiss in their Lives.
Madness has been in their
Hearts while they have lived, & with that
Madness they have
gone to the Dead. But, of them who are not perfect
Sotts and
Stones in their
Death, the most by far,
dy confessing and complaining, that they have been without
Wisdom all their Dayes. They own, they have never come unto
Wisdom, until their
Dying Hour be come upon them. And it is well, if
now they do any more, than see that they have been without
Wisdom; it is well if
now they come really to get any of that
Wisdom, which they have been thus long without. We read, Prov. 5.11, 12. of,
Mourning at the last, How have I hated Instruction! The most of Men go on foolishly all their days, in such Indiscretions, that they
mourn at the last;
‘Oh! If
I were to live over again, I would never lead my Life so
foolishly as I have done! I would order my
Life after another and a wiser Manner than I have done!’ When that famous Roman
Cicero, was come towards the latter End of his
Life, he cried out,
O me nunquam prudensem! 'Alas, I have never done the part of a
'Wise Man, in all my Days. Thus do the most of Men cry out of themselves, at a
latter End full of
Bitterness. Dying Men say;
We have lived without
[Page 35] Wisdom. At their
Death 'tis found and own'd, they have been without it. In a
Dying Hour to be forced unto the Confession,
I have until now been wholly destitute of Wisdom! And now, no opportunity to
Exert it, or, perhaps to
obtain it! —
We will Enquire, Thirdly.
Who they are, which
Dy before they arrive unto
Wisdom. You shall shall have a brief Description of them.
First, They who
Dy Unprepared for Death, such
Dy without Wisdom. The truest
Wisdom of Man, lies, of old they said,
In a Meditation of Death; I will say,
In a Preparation for death. Death finds none but Egregious
Fools Unprepared for it. We are warned, That before we
dy, we must be
prepared for it, by a
Sanctifying Change upon us;
Prepared for it, by being
Renewed in the Spirit of our Minds: Prepared for it, by turning to God, and Closing with Christ, & having the Dispositions which will render us
meet for the Inheritance of the Saints in light. We are warned, That if we
dy before we are thus
Prepared for it, it will be
Good for us, that we had never been born. Our
Death will be but a sort of a
Trap door, by which we shall be thrown down into the place of
Dragons, a place of
Torments. It can be no
Wisdom to slight this warning, and neglect this
Preparation for Death. Unto one
Unprepared for death, it was said; Luk. 12.20.
Thou Fool! Oh! how justly, how justly may it be said unto such an one;
Ah, Fool, dying without Wisdom! The
unprepared Soul, tumbles into a dreadful Eternity, with such a shriek as that;
‘What a
Fool, Oh! what a
Fool, have I been! What horrible
Stripes has my
Folly brought me to!’
[Page 36]Secondly. They who
dy, before they have begun to live, shall
dy without Wisdom. A Man does not
begin to live, until he
lives unto God. He that never begins to mind the Great
Errand, which GOD sent him into the World upon, has not
begun to live. He that fills not his Life with
Acknowledgements of GOD, and studies not to
Acknowledge God in all his ways, has not
begun to live. He that lives wholly
to himself, and sweels away his Life, only in the
Hurries, and the
Pleasures, and
Amusements of
this Life; may have it said of him, as, 1 Tim. 5.6.
He is dead, while he lives. 'Tis not
Wisdom; No, 'Tis
Folly in its Exaltation, to live at this rate. If
Death overtakes a Man, while he is yet
alienated from the Life of God; If
Death siezes upon a Man, before he is experimentally acquainted with the Methods of a
Godly Life: the Man
dies without Wisdom.
Thirdly. They who
dy in their Sins, these
dy without Wisdom. Sin is
Folly. Every Sinner is a
Fool. In sinning we bring our selves into cause for saying, as, 2 Sam. 24.10.
I have sinned, and I have done very foolishly. Men are not come to
Wisdom, till they have left off
sinning, or, while they go on still in their
Trespasses. If Men
dy before they are
Converted from the Error of their ways, they
dy without Wisdom. To
dy Unpardoned, is to
dy Miserable. To
dy with Sin unbewailed, and unforsaken, and unrepented of, is to
dy Unpardoned. So to
dy — with
Folly not abandoned, nor forgiven; To
dy, with
the Wrath of God yet abiding on the Soul; To
dy, and carry away a
Guilty Conscience, which will gnaw, and scourge, and vex the Soul, and be within it, a
Worm that will never dy! Certainly, tis no
Wisdom to
dy so!
[Page 37]
But my Discourse must pass into a most Importunate
Exhortation. And it is an Exhortation, to be managed with the most Vehement
Importunity, because we are every one of us very nearly concerned in it. If any one of us could promise himself to be excused from
dying at all; Yea, or if any one of us could promise himself to
live so much as
One Day longer, the
Exhortation might suffer some Abatement of the Flame in which it must come unto us. Oh! But not one of us can promise any such matter. We are all concerned. My Address must be as extensive as that; Psal. 49.1.
Hear this, all ye People. This must be the
Exhortation to us all.
Immediately, Immediately become so
wise, as to get beyond the Danger of
dying without Wisdom. If you enquire, and methinks you should be Inquisitive,
What is that Wisdom? GOD Himself shall give you an Answer, Job 28.28.
And unto Man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is Wisdom, and to depart from evil, that is Understanding. Syrs, be assured of this. A Man may have the
Wisdom to
Govern and
Manage whole Nations of Men; but if he
dy without any better
Wisdom, How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, Son of the Morning, who didst order the Nations? A Man may have the
Wisdom to understand as many
Languages as a
Mithridates; but if he
dy without better
Wisdom, he must be lodg'd where he shall gnaw his Tongue for Pain, & know no
Language but that of Roaring and of Blasphemy. A Man may have the
Wisdom to Calculate all the Motions of the
Heavens; but if he
dy without better
[Page 38]
Wisdom, he must go down to
Hell, and lie in restless
Chains of Darkness there. An acute Philosopher, will not by all his Wisdom, avoid a worse Fate than that of an
Empedocles.
The greatest Case that ever can be spoken to, is now to be briefly spoken to.
What shall a Person do, that he may be rescued and preserved from the Unhappiness of dying without Wisdom? O my dying Friends; Hearken, Hearken to the Counsils of GOD; the Dictates and the Lessons of the truest
Wisdom!
First. You must
Repent of all your Folly before you
dy; Else you will
dy without Wisdom. To
Sin is to
play the Fool. To go on in Sin, is to go astray in the
Greatness of our Folly. To walk in the way of Sin, is to
wander from the way of Understanding. Repentance is a
Resipiscence; 'tis a
growing wise again. In
Repentance a Man does that thing; Luk. 15.17.
come to himself. The Sinners
dy without Wisdom surely, who go out of the world before they
come to themselves. Ah,
Dying People; This, This you have to do before you
dy. You must
Lament before the Lord, the Miscarriages which your Lives have been fill'd withal; the Violations of His Holy and Just and Good Laws, in the Course of your Lives; Esteem it a most
Lamentable Thing, that you have
offended Him: You must lay to heart that
fountain of all wickedness every one of us has in his own desperately wicked Heart; that
evil Heart of unbelief, which inclines us to depart from the living God. You must apprehend
Sin as the
worst evil; be apprehensive of an hideous and horrid evil enwrapped in it; especially, as it is a
Denial of the God that is Above. You must loath and Judge
[Page 39] yourselves, as worthy of a terrible
Destruction from God, for the offence that your Sin has given to His Infinite Majesty. You must Believe that He is a
God ready to Pardon. Believe the
offer which He makes of His
Pardoning Mercy unto the
Chief of Sinners. Believe the
purchase which the Blood of your Saviour has made of a
Pardon, for all that will embrace the
offer. You must
Accept this astonishing
Offer. But Accept it, with a sincere
Desire, a steady
Purpose to
Transgress no more. Sincerely and stedily say,
I will not offend any more. And if you have
wrong'd your
Neighbour, you must endeavour all suitable
Reparation and
Restitution. You
dy without Wisdom, if you dy without such a
Repentance. Oh! Let it not after this be said, as, Jer. 8.6.
No Man Repented him.
Secondly. You must make sure of an Interest in a Glorious CHRIST, before you
dy; else you will
dy without Wisdom. You are sensible, That our Great Redeemer, is for many and weighty Causes in the Sacred Scriptures, called by the Name of,
Wisdom. We read, 1 Cor. 1.30.
He is of GOD, made unto us, Wisdom. Then to dy
without Christ, is to
dy without Wisdom. Wherefore, This you have to do before you
dy. You must come to an
Acquaintance, and an
Union, with your only Saviour. You must consent unto that
Covenant, which your Saviour, as the Head of His People, has made with His Eternal
Father; and be willing that He should not only make
Expiation for your Sins, but also Quicken you and Assist you to
Live unto Him. You must Receive your Saviour in all His
Offices, and with all His
Benefits, and have a Soul ravished with His
Excellencies; and
commit your all into
[Page 40] His Hands, and
Rely upon Him for all the Blessings of Goodness. Oh! Let no one dare to
dy, till he has done this. To
dy Christless is to
dy without Wisdom, and
without Hope of Blessedness!
Faith is in the New Testament ever now and then called,
Wisdom. If you
dy, before you have
obtained a precious Faith in the only Saviour, you
dy without Wisdom, and the
Gospel being
hid from you, you are
Lost, Lost for ever. If a
Christ be not your
Portion, you have your
Portion with Unbelievers; A Portion from which,
O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my Soul!
Thirdly. You must have your Minds rectified with a
Principle of Grace, before you
dy; else you will
dy without Wisdom. That
Principle of Grace, which purifies the Soul of a Sinner from his Evil Tendencies, and makes a New Creature of him, is most reasonably called,
Wisdom. Thus we read; Psal. 51.6. Of
Wisdom in the Hidden Part. A
Principle of Grace, will cause a Man to act
wisely. To
fear GOD, and
prize His Christ, and
hate all Sin, and
sleight this World, and
bear Afflictions patiently and fruitfully, and be a
good Steward of the manifold Favours of GOD, and be a
Blessing in all Relations, and keep joyfully looking for the
Mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ in an
Everlasting Life: This is to act
wisely. A
Principle of Grace will produce this
wise Behaviour. A Soul dismiss'd by
Death, being found under the power of such a
Principle, will be found
mark'd for the Heavenly World. It has the
Marks of the Lord upon it. A Soul then found without such a
Principle, will be found without any Claim to the Blessings of the
Heavenly Places. It will be claim'd by the
Destroyer; and it can have nothing but a
fearful Expectation of a fiery Indignation.
[Page 41] My Neighbours, Before you
dy, you must with a
Conversion to GOD, have a
Principle of Grace wrought in your Souls. And therefore, you must
Cry to the God of all Grace, and
wait on Him for it, with a most unspeakable Agony. You must
Resign your selves unto the
Spirit of Grace, and sollicit, and entertain His
Influences, and submit to, and fall in with, His
Operations. Keep doing so, while you
Live; Keep doing it, as for your
Lives. Tremble, Tremble at the Thought of
dying, till you have in you, the
Spring of Everlasting Life!
Fourthly. You must
wisely Measure, and
wisely Employ, the
Time of your Lives; otherwise you will be without
Wisdom, at the
End of your Lives. 'Tis
Wisdom to
Measure our Time well. Thus we read; Psal. 90.12.
So teach us to number our Days, that we may apply our Hearts unto Wisdom. 'Tis
Wisdom, not to allot upon more
Days than we have Reason for. 'Tis
Wisdom to allow, that for ought we know, we are entred into the very
last of our
Days. Again, 'Tis
Wisdom to Employ our
Time well. Thus we read; Eph. 5.15, 16.
See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the Time, because the Days are evil. 'Tis
Wisdom to spend our Hours, in such a manner that we may give a
good Account how we have spent them. 'Tis
Wisdom not to throw away our
Hours impertinently, but be always either
doing or
getting of Good in them all. Mind it then, Syrs. You will
dy without Wisdom, if your
Death surprize you; if your
Death come unexpectedly;— if at your
Death you must say;
I never look'd for this! I did not imagine that I could be so near to this. You will
dy without Wisdom, if your
Death come upon you, before you have learnt the
[Page 42] Skill of
Living Usefully; if your
Death cut you down, before you are grown
Fruitful in good Works; and bring forth much
Fruit unto God. Oh! Beware of this.
Fifthly. To Escape the
Finished Folly of Dying without Wisdom, one way is, To
Learn Wisdom from the Dying. Verily,
The Thoughts of a Dying Man, are those wherein Ordinarily you hear
Wisdom Justified, even by those who never in all their Days before have been the
Children of it. The
Wisdom which the
Children of
Exalted Folly have derided, while they thought of nothing but living always here, is, in
The Thoughts of a Dying Man, how Approved, how Applauded, how Recommended unto the Survivers! When Men see the
Days of the life of their Vanity come to their period, they Recommend unto the World, the
Religion of GOD our SAVIOUR, and a Conformity to the
Maxims of it, as the only
Wisdom in the World! Ask a Dying Man,
What is the Wisest Course that can be taken? He will say;
‘Oh!
live to GOD, and
live by the
Faith of the SON of GOD, as soon and as much as ever you can; And fill your
life with Acts of
Devotion towards GOD, and with Acts of
Benignity towards Man; And let the
Views of a
life to come govern you
in all Manner of Conversation.’
Such Things you have a thousand and a thousand times heard from the Quivering
Lips, that have had an Immortal Soul just Expiring from them. Won't you
hearken to the Voice of such
Teachers, but
Mourn at the last, for your Obstinacy and Impenitence?
O ye Fools, when will you be wise! —
And now, The Great GOD has ordered it, that a Number of
Dying Men appear among us, in
[Page 43] some Tragical and peculiar Circumstances. Another Company of PIRATES under
Sentence of Death appear among us, and are within a few Hours to be Executed.
Certainly, It will be the
Wisdom of us all, but especially of our
Sea-faring Tribe, to learn from these
Dying Men, some things which the
living that
see the End of these Men must
lay to Heart, — if they would not with an
Hard Heart lay up for themselves
Treasures of Wrath, to be poured out upon them, in the
Righteous Judgment of GOD.
Learn from these poor Men, the Mischief of those
Two Vices, wherein so many of the
Sea-faring Tribe suffer the doleful
Shipwreck of their Souls, and are
drowned in Perdition. The first, that of
Drunkenness; And then, that of profane
Swearing and
Cursing. These poor Men do, with unutterable Anguish cry out, under the heavy Load of
Guilt, which these Two Vices have laid and left upon them. The former Vice,
resigns the Sinner up to the
Possession of the
Devil; and by Consequence, to all manner of Wickedness. The latter Vice,
declares that the
Devil has taken an horrible
Possession of the Sinner, and the Wretch cannot now so truly say, what he use to do,
My Tongue is my own; as he may say,
'Tis the Devils: And being
Set on Fire of Hell, 'tis plain, what and where a
Torment is intended for it. Being thus
Warned of them, Oh!
Steer clear of the
Rocks, where you see the
Breakers before you!
At the same time, when, Oh! when, will the
Sea no longer have cause to say of
Wisdom, It is not in me! And complain that they who follow the
Sea, will so
Madly as they do, abandon themselves,
[Page 44] and let their Souls
drive to the Courses of
Self-destruction! Poor Sailours, Will you never hearken to the
Voice of Wisdom? Always be
Madmen, and with
Madness in your Hearts go to the Dead? Never become a Pious, a Sober, a Serious, and a Prudent Generation? Let the Condition of these Poor Men help you to
receive Instruction and
acquaint your Hearts with Wisdom. In their Condition you see, that if you
go on still in your Trespasses a Provoked GOD can by the Hands of
Sea-Monsters, which thro' His
Curse upon you do
Increase and Multiply, & become the
Terror of them that haunt the Sea, bring sore plagues upon you: And even one of these
Leviathans have a permission to pillage no less than Four Hundred Vessels of you. Yea, and what is infinitely worse; In
their Condition you see what
you may be left unto: And how far, if you remain Incorrigible in your evil ways, the Justice of GOD may give you up to the
Lusts of your own Hearts, and leave you to do those things, which may bring a
fearful End upon you, that once you little imagined.
Oh! What may you come to!
My Friends;
Be Admonished by these things; And,
Be wise.
But while I am addressing the poor
Sailours, and beseeching them, that they would not let the
Devil, who is the worst of
Masters, enslave them, nor have their
Names in the
Book of,
The Wicked one, I would presume upon an Address to the
Masters of our Vessels, that they would not be too like the
Devil, in their
Barbarous Usage of the
Men that are under them, and lay them under
Temptations to do
Desperate Things. We allow, Syrs, That you must be
Commanders aboard, and you must keep a
strict Hand
[Page 45] over your Men; and you may,
as Times go, too often have occasions for
Severities; But still, there must be no room for
Barbarities. Our best
Commanders find they can do without such Things. The
Men must be used as
Rational Creatures. Yea,
Masters, you must Remember your MEN, — Don't you call 'em so? — They are your
Brethren. And you would certainly find it so, that with a
Merciful Usage of your
Men, if you wisely maintain the
Exercises of PIETY aboard your Vessels, and be yourselves bright
Examples of it, your GOD, and the
Conscience that speaks from and for Him in your
Men, would be on
your side, and your
Authority would be sufficiently Established.
I Conclude. And,
Hear this, O all ye People, every one of you! You cannot be secured from the Inexpressible, the Incomprehensible
Infelicity of,
Dying without Wisdom, if you do not immediately come into a fixed RESOLUTION, for that which is,
The Beginning of Wisdom: Resolved for the
Fear of God, and a
Life of Religion. Oh! Be not so
Exceeding Mad, any of you, as to remain
Unresolved, whether the Glorious GOD be not worthy of a perpetual Homage from you; whether a Gracious REDEEMER have not such Things to do for you, as are worth your looking to Him for; whether the
Spiritual Blessings in Heavenly places, are not rather to be chosen, than a
Devouring Fire, and Everlasting Burnings! Will our
young People, be so
wise now, as to
Consider their Latter End! We read of such a Thing as that; Prov. 1.4.
Giving to the young Man Discretion. The word for,
Discretion, there, may be rendred,
Thoughtfulness. Oh! That our
young People would be so
Discrete as to be more
Thoughtful
[Page 46] than they often are! Oh! that they might be able to say,
I thought on my ways, and I turned my Feet unto the ways, whereto GOD has born His Testimonies. And, Children, I now more particularly Demand your
Thoughts on two
Questions, in the
Catechism for Conscience, which continually comes upon you.
I demand it of you, whether you are sure of any more
Time to get
Wisdom, than
this very Moment, before you
dy? GOD has taught you an Answer to this Question; Prov. 7.5.
Boast not thy self of Tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a Day may bring forth.
I demand it of you, whether if you
dy without Wisdom, your
Folly will not be inexcusable, your
Horror intolerable, your
Torture insupportable? God has taught you an Answer to this Question; Heb. 10.31.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the Hands of the Living GOD.
I hope 'tis no longer a matter of Suspense with you; But you are come to a point,
Great God, Thro' thy CHRIST I desire to live unto thee.
The short SERMON occasion'd by the Condition of these Miserables, is thus finished. What remains, is,
[Page 47]
AND now,
speedily, that is to say, On
Tuesday, the
Sentence against the Evil Works of these Men, must be executed. One of the Four, namely,
Condick, was Reprieved. As for
Fly, he had been all along, a most uncommon and amazing Instance of Impenitency and Stupidity, and what
Spectacles of Obduration the Wicked will be, when they have by a course of Wickedness under and against Warnings, provoked the GOD of Heaven to withold His Influences from them. The Sullen and Raging Mood, into which he fell, upon his being first
Imprison'd, caused him to break forth into furious Execrations, and Blasphemies too hideous to be mention'd; and not eat one morsel of any thing, but subsist only upon a little Drinking, for almost all the remaining part of his Life. He declined appearing in the Public Assemblies, on the
Lords-day, with the other Prisoners, to be under the appointed means of Grace, because, forsooth,
he would not have the Mob to gaze upon him. He seem'd all along ambitious to have it said,
That he died a brave fellow ▪ He pass'd along to the place of Execution, with a
Nosegay in his hand, and making his
Complements, where he
thought he saw occasion. Arriving there, he nimbly mounted the Stage, and would fain have put on a Smiling Aspect. He reproached the Hangman, for not understanding his Trade, and with his own Hands rectified matters, to render all things more Convenient and Effectual.
[Page 48]When he was called upon, to
Speak what he should judge proper to be spoken on that sad occasion, at least for the Warning of Survivers, he only said, That
he would advise the Masters of Vessels to carry it well to their Men, lest they should be put upon doing as he had done.
At the same time, he declared his obstinate Refusal, to
Forgive the Person that had been the Instrument of bringing him to Justice. When the Necessity of that
Charity was urgently press'd upon him; and advantage taken from a Recital of the
Lords-Prayer used among the Devotions of the Criminals on the present Occasion, to urge it; he still persisted in his
Unrelenting Frame; and an Expression of that Importance was in the last words, he Expired withal. But it was observed and is affirm'd, by some Spectators, that in the Midst of all his affected
Bravery, a very sensible
Trembling attended him; His hands and his
Knees were plainly seen to
Tremble. — And so we must leave him for the
Judgment to come.
The other Two,
Cole and
Greenville, had much greater Signs of
Repentance upon them. They made their
Prayers, and seem'd continually
praying, and much affected. They desired the Spectators to take
Warning by them. And they mentioned Profane
Swearing and
Cursing, with
Drunkenness and
Sabbath-breaking, as Crimes which were now particularly grievous to them. They also justified the
Court, as well as acknowledged the
Justice of the Glorious GOD, in the Punishment they were now brought unto.
[Page 49]A Minister present having made a Pertinent and Pathetic
Prayer, the Officer, willing that all that was possible might be done for their good, after some time, ask'd them, whether they would have another
Prayer. Fly did not accept the offer, but said,
If the other Two be Ready, I am! However, the
other Two desiring it, another such
prayer was made by another Minister; and after
that, another by a Third; with which they joined attentively. (while
Fly look'd about him unconcerned.)
Then the Execution was finished; And
Fly's Carcase hanged in Chains, on an Island, at the Entrance into
Boston-Harbour.
Cole, being one that could use his Pen, did on the Morning before his Execution, give out a Paper, in which
‘he Lamented his early accustoming of himself to Profane
Swearing; and Blasphemous
Language; and Excessive
Drinking; and his frequent
stealing of Liquors from his Master, for the Satisfaction of them who hired him to do it. He added his bitter Lamentations, that when he came to
Man's Estate, he abandoned himself to criminal Pleasures, to
Drinking, Dancing, Whoring, and the rest. He begg'd all
Sea-faring-Men to take Warning by his Ignominious and Miserable Death; to which he was now brought, by the Enticements of the Wicked. He confess'd himself to be justly Condemned; and gave abundance of Thanks, for the Assistance of Good Ministers, and the wholesome Instructions and holy Directions they had given him, and
[Page 50] and express'd his Hope of entring into Heaven, by the Blood of His Glorious Redeemer.’ And he earnestly desired, that this Paper might be published to the World.
The poor Man, in the Prison, had owned unto a Minister, That from the Moment of the
Murders on Board, he never had a minutes Quiet in his Mind, but was continually Meditating how to run away from the
whole World, and if it were possible run away from
himself. The Apprehension of his having some Intention to knock the
Vessel on the Head, and perhaps the
Captain, caused them, for some Days before Mr.
Atkinson's happy Revolution, to lay him in
Irons, and every Day cruelly to bestow more than an Hundred Lashes upon him; whereof he continued Sore to his Death. He now saw the Glorious GOD, beginning to Execute on him
His Vengeance, by the Hands of his
own Bloody Companions: And he endured such
Miseries, as made him look upon his forlorn Circumstances in the
Boston-Gaol, as a sort of a Deliverance. It was
there endeavoured, that this
Construction of his
Miseries might be set home upon him. However, it was admirable to see, how the Vengeance of GOD, sometimes makes
Aceomplices in Sin, horrible
Scourges to one another!
It was a Saying of the
Orientals, Happy is he, who corrects his Faults by the Faults of others. And now,
Happy would our
Sea-faring People particularly be, if the
Crimes and the
Ends of some whom they have seen
Drowned in Perdition, might effectually cause them to beware of the
Faults. with which they may any of them charge themselves.
[Page 51]Upon those words used unto
Achan just before his Execution,
The Lord shall trouble them THIS DAY; the Jews have a Charitable Fancy, That on THAT DAY, he saw an end of all his
Trouble; and that in the world to come he shall have no further
Trouble, but be found among the Penitent and the Pardoned. With the
Malefactors, who dy Penitent and Pardoned, it will be so; But the Infallible Judgment of who are so, is what none but
GOD the Judge of all, can determine.
FINIS.