sye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do fhew the Lord's death till he come.

Having my dear Friendly, finifhed my treatife on the former particulars, I fhall now lead your thoughts to the next, which is to fhow, Wherein the love of God hath appeared in the kingdom of providence, the government being in Chrift's hands.

Friendly. This topic, dear Truth, will be extremely agreeable.

Truth. Your continual readinefs to hear, gives me great comfort, and without further apology I fhall introduce the wonders of Providence, by giving an account of fuch remarkable deliverances as are well attefted by that eminent divine, Mr. Mather, of Bofton, in New-England.

Friendly. Such a recital will be highly engaging, especially as the wonders of Providence of old are left upon record for our admiration, and can at any time be referred to.

Truth. I fhall begin with Mr. Mather's obfervation, page 2d. That the royal pen of the Prophet David hath most truly affirmed, that they who go down into the fea in fhips, that do bufinefs in great waters, fee the works of the Lord, and the wonders in the deep; and especially they fee the wonders of divine goodness, in refpect of eminent deliverances, wrought by the hand of the Moft High, who ftills the noife of the feas; it is meet that fuch providences fhould be had in remembrance, and most of all by the perfons concerned in them; fo by others, that the GoD of falvation, who is the 'confidence of those who are afar off upon the fea, may have eternal praife. Many remarkable inftances of divine Providence are made public by various authors, particularly in Mr. Janeway's fea deliverances; but I fhall confine myself to things which have happened either. in New-England, or wherein New-England veffels have been concerned. We shall begin with that remarkable fea deliverance which Mr. Anthony Thacher, did experience when he first came to NewEngland, a full and true relation whereof I find, in a letter directed to his brother, Mr. Peter Thacher, then a faithful Minifter of CHRIST in Sarum, in England (he was father to my worthy friend, Mr. Thomas Thacher, late Paftor to one of the churches in this Bofton.) This letter of Mr. Anthony Thacher, being written within a few days after that eminent Providence happened to him, matters were then fresh in his memory, I fhall therefore infert his narrative in his own words, who expreffeth himself as follows:

"I must turn my drowned pen and fhaking hand to indite

cr

"the story of such fad news as never before this happened in "New-England. There was a league of perpetual friendship "between my coufin Averyt, and myself, never to forfake "each other until death, but to be partakers of each others "mifery and welfare, as alfo of habitation in the fame place. "Now, upon our arrival in New-England, there was an offer "made unto us; my coufin Avery was invited to Marblehead, "to be their Paftor in due time, there being no church planted "there as yet, but a town appointed to fet up the trade of fishing, because many there (moft being fishermen) were "fomewhat loofe and remifs in their behaviour. My coufin "Avery was unwilling to go thither, and refufing, we went "to Newbury, intending there to fit down; but being foli"cited fo often, by the men of the place, the Magiftrates, "Mr. Collin, and moft of the Minifters, who alledged what "a benefit we might be to the people, the country and com "mon-wealth, we confented to go. They at Marblebead "forthwith fent a pinnace for us and our goods; we embarked "at Ipfwich, August 11, 1635, with our families and substance, "bound for Marblehead, we being twenty-three fouls, viz. "eleven in my coufin's family, and feven in mine, and one "Mr. Elliot, fometimes of New Sarum, and four mariners. "The next morning, having commended ourselves to GOD, with chearful hearts we hoifted fail; but the LORD foon "turned our chearfulness into mourning and lamentation: on "the 14th of August, 1635, about ten at night, having a fresh "gale of wind, our fails, being old, were split; the mariners, "because it was night, would not put to new fails, but re"folved to caft anchor till the morning: before day-light it "pleafed the LORD to fend fo mighty a storm, as the like was "never known in New-England, fince the English came, nor " in the memory of any of the Indians; it was so furious, that "our anchors came home, the mariners let out more cable, "which at last flipt away; our failors knew not what to do, "and we were driven before the wind and waves. My "coufin and I, perceiving our danger, folemnly committed "ourselves to GOD, the Lord of earth and feas, as we ex"pected with every wave to be fwallowed up in the deep; as "my coufin, his wife, and my tender babes, fat comforting " and chearing one another in the LORD, againft ghaftly death "which every moment ftared us in the face, and fat triumph"ant on each one's forehead, we were by the violence of the

+ Mr. Avery that went over with him.

"waves, and fury of the winds, (by the LORD's permiffion) "lifted upon a rock, between two high rocks, yet all was one "rock. The fea ftill raging, the water came into the pinnace, so that we were prefently up to our middles in water as we fat ;-the waves which came furiously, and violently over, and against us, by the position of the rocks could not "lift us off, but beat us all to pieces. Now, look with me upon our diftrefs, confider of my mifery, who beheld the ship broken, the water in her, and the waves violently over"whelming us, my goods and provifions fwimming on the "feas,-my friends almoft drowned, mine own poor children "fo untimely (if I may fo term it without an offence) ready "to be drowned and dafhed to pieces againft the rocks by the "merciless waves, and myfelf ready to accompany them. "But, I must go on to an end of this mournful relation: in "the fame room, fat the Mafter of the pinnace, not knowing "what to do, our foremaft was cut down, main mast broken "in three pieces, the fore part of the pinnace beat away, our "goods fwimming about the feas, my children bewailing me, "not pitying themselves, myself bemoaning them, whom I "had occafioned to fuch an end in their tender years, wherein "they could scarce be fenfible of death; fo likewife my coufin, "his wife, and both of us, bewailing each other in our LORD "and SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST, in whom we had com"fort and chearfulness, infomuch that from the greatest to "the leaft, there was not one fhriek nor out-cry made, but, "like filent fheep contentedly to die lovingly, as fince our ac"quaintance we had lived friendly together. Now, as I was "fitting in the cabin-room door, with my body in the room, 66 one of the failors, by a wave being wafhed out, was gotten "in again, and coming into the cabin-room, over my back, "cried out, we are all caft away, the Lord have mercy upon us: "I have been washed over-board into the fea, and am gotten in again. His fpeeches made me look forth towards the fea, and feeing how we were, I turned to my coufin, and fpake these "words: Oh coufin, it has pleafed GoD to caft us here be"tween two rocks, the fhore not far off from us, for I faw "the tops of trees: the master of the pinnace, at the fcuttle "hole of the quarter-deck, went out, but I never faw him "afterwards; then he that had been in the fea, went out again "by me, and leaped over-board, towards the rocks, whom "afterwards I could not fee. Now none were left in the barque that I knew or faw, but my coufin, his wife, chil"dren, and maid-fervant, myfelf, and mine. But my cousin,

"who thought I would have fled from him, faid to me, "coufin, leave us not; let us die together; and reached forth "his hand towards me. Then I, letting go my fon Peter's hand, took him by the hand and faid, coufin, I purpose it not, whither fhall I go? I am ready and willing to die with k you and my poor children; GOD be merciful to us, and re"ceive us to himself; adding these words, the LORD is able

t

to help and deliver us. He replied, truth, coufin, but what "his pleasure is, we know not; I fear we have been too "unthankful for former deliverances; but he has promised to "deliver us from fin and condemnation, and to bring us fafe "to Heaven through the ali-fufficient fatisfaction of JESUS CHRIST; this therefore we may challenge of him. To which "I replied, this is all the deliverance I now defire or expect; "I had no fooner spoken, but by a mighty wave, I was with a piece of the barque, wafhed out upon a part of the rock, "where the wave left me almoft drowned; but recovering my "feet, I faw above me, on the rock, my daughter Mary, to whom I had no fooner gotten, but coufin Avery, and his "eldest fon came to us, being all of us washed out by one and the fame wave. We went into a small hole on the top of "the rock, from whence we called to thofe in the pinnace to come, fuppofing we were in more fafety than they. My "wife feeing us there, was crept into the fcuttle of the "quarter-deck to come to us, but presently came another wave "and dafhed the pinnace all to pieces, and carried away my "wife in the fcuttle as fhe was, with the greater part of the "quarter-deck unto the fhore, where fhe was caft fafely, but

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her legs were fomewhat bruifed, and much of the timber of the "veffel being there, fhe was fome time before she could get "c away, being washed by the waves; all the reft that were in "the barque were drowned in the merciless fea, and we four "by that wave were clean swept away from off the rock, into "the fea; the LORD at one inftant of time difpofing of fifteen "fouls of us according to the good pleasure of his will. But

his pleasure, and wonderful great mercy to me was this, "ftanding on the rock, as before you heard, with my eldest "daughter, my coufin, and his eldest fon, looking upon, and talking with them in the barque, when we were, (as before

you heard) washed into the fea, GOD in his mercy caufed me "to fall by the stroke of the wave, flat on my face, for my "face was towards the fea, infomuch that as I was fliding off "the rock into the fea, the LORD directed my toes into a joint in the rock fide, and the top of fome of my fingers of my

my right hand, the wave leaving me, I remained fo, "having in the rock only my head above the water. When "on the left hand I efpied a board or plank of the pinnace, "and reaching out my left hand to lay hold of it, another "wave coming over the top of the rock, I was washed away, "and by the violence of the waves was driven hither and "thither in the fea a great while, and had many dashes against "the rocks. At length, past hopes of life, wearied in body "and fpirits, I gave over to nature, and being ready to re"ceive the waters of death, I lifted up my heart and hands to "the GOD of Heaven, (I had all my fenfes remaining perfect "with me all the time I was under and in the water) who at "that inftant lifted up my head above the top of the water, "that fo I might breathe. I ftood upright as if upon my feet, "but felt no bottom, nor had any thing to ftand upon befides "the waters; while I was thus above the water, I faw by me a piece of the maft, as I fuppofe, about three-feet long, "which I laboured to catch in my arms, fuddenly was over"whelmed with water, driven to and fro again; and at last I "felt the ground with my right foot. I presently recovered "my feet, was in the water up to my breaft, and through "God's great mercy had my face to the fhore. I made hafte "to get out, but was thrown down on my hands by the waves, with fafety crept to the dry thore, where, bleffing "GOD, I looked for my children, faw neither, or any part of "the pinnace where I had left them, as I fuppofed. I faw my wife not far from me, getting herfelf from the timber "of the broken barque; but before I could get to her she was gotten to the fhore; (I was in the water after I was washed " from the rock, a quarter of an hour at least) when we were come to each other, we went and fat under the rock; but "the fear of the feas roaring, and our coldness, would not "fuffer us there to remain. We then went up into the land, "and fat down under a cedar tree, which the wind had thrown "down, about an hour almost dead with cold. But now the "ftorm was broken up, and the wind was calm, yet the sea "remained rough and fearful to us; my legs were much "bruised, and fo was my head; I had not taken in much "water; but my heart would not let me fit ftill any longer, "I would go and fee if any more were come to the land in "fafety, especially hoping to have met with fome of my poor "children; I could find none, neither dead or living. You con“dole with me in my miferies, who now began to confider of U

VOL. II.