A Loving Exhortation And WARNING TO SEAMEN, and all others whom it doth concern.  
YOu that go down to the Sea in Ships, that do Business in great Waters, where you see the Works of the Lord, and his Wonders in the deep; great cause have you to fear and love the great God of Heaven and Earth, who giveth you Life and Being, who is the God of all your Mercies, who in Mercy hath oftentimes preserved you in great Danger and Peril, and delivered You when you have been ready to perish: Oh forget not his Mercy towards you; but Repent speedily, and Fear and Dread his great Name, and stand in Awe, and Sin no more against him, whose Power is ●ver all, who commands the Winds and the Seas, and they obey him: When sometimes you have been in Great Jeopardy of Your Lives, and the Lord hath ●n Mercy delivered you, how little have some of You Eyed the Mercy and delivering Hand of the Lord therein; but have been Ready to asscribe the Honour of your Deliverance to the Anchor, Cable and Manhood, more than to the Lord; and when you have been in Great Danger of your Lives, and saw no Way, but you must perish, have ye not then cried to the Lord to deliver you? (and 〈◊〉 Gild of your Iniquities being heavy upon your Consciences) have you not been ready to make Promises to the Lord in your Distress, that if he spared your Lives, ye would repent, and turn unto him, and fear, and serve him, and forsake your Evil Ways? And when the Lord hath answered your Desires, and in Mercy hath given you your Lives for a Prey, when you came to Land, have you then performed your Vows and Promises to the Lord? or have you not gone on in Sin and Evil still? let God's Witness in every Conscience speak, for unto that I make my Appeal: Consider how greatly it concerneth you Seamen (and so it doth all other People) to mind their latter End, and to be ready for sudden Death; let every particular One consider seriously how it stands between God and their own Souls: Oh, it is a blessed Thing to be fit to die, and to feel Peace with God; it is their Sins and Iniquities that make People unfit for God's Kingdom; they that die in their Sins must perish, as Christ said unto some, Except you repent you shall likewise perish; without Holiness and Purity none can see God: The Soul of Man is Immortal, and can never die, but must (when it leaves the Body) be in a feeling Sense of Joy and Peace, or Woe and Misery forever; The Wicked and all that forget God must be turned into Hell: Oh that all People, Young and Old, may repent and return to the Lord with their whole Hearts, & he will show them Mercy! Prise your time, for it is precious, and you know not how short it is: Oh fear and dread the Eternal God that giveth you Life and Being, and can take it away when he pleaseth; It is not a talking of being saved and redeemed by Christ, and of his dying for you, will stand you in any stead, that live in Sin and Vanity; Christ said, A Man must be born again, or else he cannot see the Kingdom of God: So Dear People, both Young and Old, mind the Pure Divine Light of Christ Jesus in your own Consciences, that which Checketh and Reproveth you, when you speak or act that which is Evil, and come to Obey it; for it is the Way of Life, and will Led you, if you obey it, out of all Sin, Ungodliness, and Worldly Lusts, into the Way of Life, and teach you to live Soberly, Righteously and Godlily in this present Evil World; Then Peace with God will be the Portion of your Souls.  
Written in Tender Bowels of Unfeigned Love to your Souls, by a Friend to all People. William Bennet. The 15th of the 3 d Month 1675.