Book IV. THE SOUL OF MAN COMPARED TO A SHIP. METAPHOR. I. .Lt\. Ship is a lifelefs Thing built · of Ttmber, &c. by M,an. II. A Ship is a Thing vi~ble to <orporeal Eyes. Ill. A Ship may utterly be de– "firoyed, nay, and cannot continue long. IV. A Man ihat has a Ship, may lofe it, yet may not be un– -done ; he 111ay have his Lofs re– paired, and may get another Ship better than the former. V. A Ship, though it have ever fo good a Pilot, may mifcarry, and be caft away, fuch Winds and Storms may arife, or by means of unknown Rocks, Sonds, and Shoals · it may hit upon. D IS PAR IT Y. I, THE Soul ofMan is a Spirit created by the Almighty : He bath formed the Spirit of Man within him, Zech. xii. r. II. The Soul of Man is an invifible Subftance, i. e. it cannot be fecn with tlelbly Eyes. Ill. The SN1l of Man cannot .late its Being; t-hat will live when the Body is dead, either in Joy -or Mifery ; it can never be deftroyed, fo as to die, and lofe its Being, or fuffer Annihilation, Matt. x. 28. I V. That Man that lo!es his Soul is undone for ever. No Man hath more than one Soul, and he can have no more; rhat being eaU away, he is eternally ruined ; there is no reparation for him, no making up his Lo!s. . V. The Soul of a Believer that bath Chrift for its Pilot CJnnot mi!carry; the Sea and the Winds obey him ; he makes the Storm a Calm, to that the proud Waves are frill ; he will carry it through all the Dangers it meets with, and bring -it to its defired Haven, PjuJ. cvii. 28, 29, 30. N F E R E N C E S. I. IS the Soul<ompared to a Ship, that paifcth through the troublcfome Ocean, or · tempe!'tuous Seas ? Then tins fhews us, th1C the L ife of a Chrittian is attended with many Difficulties, and imminent Dangers, and that we muft expect to meet with fudclen Storms in our Pa!fage to our eternal Port. Every Believer muft re(olve to fail through the Straits Mouth, and expect to meet with thole curfed /llgeri1lCs, thofe mortal Enemies ofChriftians, l mean the Spirits of Darkne!s, if ever he wou-ld arrive . at the holy Land. · l f. Let it be the Care and Endeavor of every Man and vVoman, to fet Out in t~i. Voyage for Eternity, whiHt the Wind of the Spirit blows. Mj <pirit, fai~h God, .jhall11ot always jlrive with Man. l!I. Caution. And let each Man from hence take heed of his Soul, this fpiritual Ship, left it be lofr. He is but entru{ted with it, and muft give an Account to the , great Owner. Befides the Soul is of very great Vi'orth, far beyond all the Ships that . Jai l on the-. Ocean; ·nay, what Value may be compared to the Soul of Man, the Excel– lency of which we !hall briefly him here, to caution all to take heed. r. It is capable of divine Medirarion and Contemplat ion, by which means we come to know there is a God. For the invijible Things of him,from the C•·eation •f the Wvrld . are clearly fem, being underjlovd by the 'Things that arc 4JJade, even his eternal Power and Godhead, &c. Rom. i. 20. I am fearfu/6• and wonderfully m~de, mar·vellous are thy !Forks; r.nd that my Soul kncweth right 1u!l, Pfal. cxxxix. 14. By prying into theNature and Glory of the -Worl>. the Soul findeth out the Being, Nature, and Glory of the Work– man. 2. It is capable of divine Infpiration. But there is a Spirit i11 Mr;n, and the hzfpira– _!ion of the dlmighty giveth him Underjlanding, Job xxxii. ~- Alfo of Comfort and De– light, and that when Multitudes of Thoughts are or would be difturbino- the Mind. 3· It is capable of divine Imprefiion, to receive the Image of God, ;. it -is rebuilt in Chrift Jefus, Pfal. xciv. 19. 4- It is capable of d ivine U nion and Communion with God. 5· Nothing !ave God himfelf ~ean fatisfy it. The Heathen by this found out the Excellency of the Soul. 6. The Soul muft needs be excellent, if we confider the Excellency of the Body which is but the Houfe or Tabernacle of- the Soul. If the Cabinet be of .fo great ~ Value, and fo curiouQy wrought; then of what tranfcendent Value muft the Jewel be! 7· The Price paid for it was no lefs than the precious Blood of Chrift, the Re– demption of the Soul is therefore precious; its Value and Excellency from hence is beyond comparifon, Pjal. xlix. 8, 9· 8 A 8. The
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