A SERMON PREACHED BEFORE THE RIGHT honourable House of LORDS, In the Abbey Church at Westminster, Wednesday the 25. day of June, 1645. Being the day appointed for solemn and public Humiliation.  
By SAMUEL RUTHERFURD Professor of divinity at St. Andrews.  Esay 8. 17. 
And I will wait upon the Lord that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.  
London Printed by R. C. for Andrew Crook, and are to be sold at his shop at the sign of the green Dragon in Paul's Churchyard, 1645.   

Die Iovis 26. Iunii, 1645.  
IT is this day ordered by the Lords in Parliament assembled, That Mr. Rutherfurd who preached yesterday before the Lords in Parliament, in the Abbey Church Westminster, is hereby thanked for the great pains he took in his said Sermon; And is desired to print and publish the same, which is to be printed only by authority under his own hand.  
To the Gentleman Usher or his deputy to be delivered to the said Mr. Rutherfurd.  
John Brown Cler. Parliamentorum.   

I appoint Andrew Crook to print this Sermon.  
Samuel Rutherfurd.   

Errata.  
PAge 17. line 27. for stoup read slops, p. 18. li. 4. for it read at, p. 23. l. ult, for feeleth, r. fleeth, p. 28. l. 19 for Emphesis r. Emphasis, p. 29. l. 30. for end, r. send, p. 48. l. 15. for Chap. 4. r. Chap 24. p. 50. l. 20. for same r. son, p. 54. l. 9 for 22 r. 42. p. 55. l. 1. for it, r. unbelief.   

To the godly and ingenuous READER.  
AS the Text of the book of divine providence (worthy Reader) is the Church and Spouse of Jesus Christ, for every line, word, and letter thereof hath a necessary relation to that body whereof Christ Jesus is head, so the draughts and passages of providence towards all creatures, yea to devils and the haters of Zion, seem to be but Annotations in the Margin of this great volume. There be many wonders and depths in the book, and the Lord doth even before our eyes in this old age of the world create new things and miracles in Britain. 1. It is most congruous to divine wisdom to time fitly the laughing and the weeping of the children of men; the triumphing of the wicked, and their prosperity; The Sackcloth and tears of the prisoners of hope seem dark and mysterious Chapters of the book, especially because we trade by the senses, and colour of things, for we see not how God hath set his enemies in slippery places, and that the throne that mystical Babylon sitteth on, is made of crystal glass, and the pillars thereof nothing but Saffes of ever-guilded earth, the sons of God would not exchange their tears with the joy of the wicked. O that we had grace to read to a full period, and with the sense of a godhead, every section of the treatisc of providence; we do half both the word and the works of God, wrong reading of God in his ways doth spoil the true sense and scope of God in his acting. The light of faith maketh legible to us, that The vision at the end shall speak, and not lie, and that light is sown to the righteous; then the harvest must be hoped for, and we err not a little, if we comment any otherwise on the short triumphing of the wicked, 
Iob. 20. 5, 6.  and the joy of the hypocrite for a moment, even when his excellency mounteth up to heaven, and his head reacheth unto the clouds; then that his golden heaven is not only lined with silken troubles, and woes, but also that he goeth down to the grave, and the Chambers of hell, in a moment. 2. This seemeth dark to us, that all the heirs of one inheritance do not mind and speak the same thing; yet in the Apostolic Church there hath been some discord, 1 Cor. 1. 10. Phil. 1. 2. Rom. 15. 5. Gal. 5. 10. more love, less pride of opinion and judgement, must either be in these kingdoms, or then we are to fear that God must work us to an union, by the sword of the common enemy, we might have union at an easier rate. 3. It is a mystery, but it is also from the Lord who is wonderful in counsel, that truth must be trailed through floods of blood. 4. That a Church is green and flowering and smelling out beauty, glory and life, in the flaming fire, that the cruelty, policy, wisdom, counsels of nations round about Britain, and so many bloody men within our bowels in the three kingdoms, 
2 Cor. 6. 9  do kill us, and behold we live, 
2 Cor. 4. 8, 9  troubleand us, we are not distressed, perplex us, and we despair not, persecute us, and we are not forsaken, cast us down, and we are not destroyed. What a living death? what a breathing and triumphing grave is this? what a shining darkness? what a rejoicing sorrow is here? 5. We wonder that our wars are not at an end? But God's thoughts are not like our thoughts, when God hath by the sword taken away his Jewels and his precious ones out of these kingdoms, it is rather like the continued burning of the house, than any apparent end of our miseries. 6. Yet after the Lord hath made the glory of Jacob thin, and the fatness of his flesh to wax lean, are we not in silence and hope to believe that a remnant must be saved? 
Esay 17. 6.  and that yet gleaning Grapes shall be left in the kingdoms, as the shaking of an Olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the Lord God of Israel? Lord, hasten his work, and ripen us by humiliation and turning to him who hath smitten us, for the day that the Lord is bringing forth out of the womb of his decree of peace, 
Esay 30. 26.  when the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be seven fold as the light of seven days; Farewell.   

A SERMON PREACHED before the Right honourable the House of LORDS at their monthly Fast, June 25. 1645. in the Abbey Church at Westminster.  Luke 8. 22. 
Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his Disciples, and he said unto them, let us go over into the other side of the Lake, and they lanced forth.  
23. But as they sailed, he fell asleep: & there came down a storm of wind on the lake, and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.  
24. And they came to him and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish: then he arose and rebuked the wind, and the raging of the water, and they ceased, and there was a calm.  
25. And he said unto them, where is your faith? and they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this? for he commandeth even the winds and the water, and they obey him.  Mark 4. 38. 
And he was in the hinder part of the ship asleep on a pillow, and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?  
39 And he arose and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still: and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.  
40. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?  Matth. 8. 26. 
And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? then he arose and rebuked the winds and the Sea, and there was a great calm.  
THere is so much of G●d, and of omnipotency in these words (which I desire by God's assistance and your patience to go through shortly, at least in such heads of doctrine as may be most suitable to the present condition of the Church) as may prove that God being sought by prayer is a present help in trouble.  
The words contain six particulars.  
1. There is here Christ's Sea journey with the convoy; secondly, time; thirdly, and place. Christ and his members have not a way of only dry land to heaven, there is much Sea-way before Christ and his followers, ere they come to shore.  
2. We have in the Text, the condition of the ship and the sailors and passengers that are carried in the vessel with Christ, 
Six parts of the Text.  in six particulars, expressing the greatness of the danger by reason of a mighty storm. 
The words opened.  First, there is a behold {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, set before it; first to hold forth the greatness of the storm, Matth. 8. 24. And behold, there arose a great tempest. Secondly, to note that creatures as winds and storms are daring and bold against Christ, and his Church, God permitting them; we imagine when Christ goes to Sea, he must have fair weather, and a calm Sea, for how dare the winds blow upon the fair face of him who created Sea and winds? But Christ sailing must have a mighty gale, if the Prince of the air Satan can in his own sphere and parish command the winds. The second circumstance, Mark saith a great storm {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} came down; it is contrary to nature that winds descend, they rather ascend; this saith it was not an ordinary wind, but thirdly, a whirlwind, Mark {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, such a wind, as Aristotle saith, is most dangerous, by rolling in a circle with violence, so as it doth in Italy and other parts swallow up towns. Matthew saith it was {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} a great tempest, a Sea-quake, that had as great force and strength as an earthquake, that can remove Castles and Towers out of their places. Fourthly, from the effect, the greatness of it is amplified, the ship was filled with water; Chemnitius observeth as the waterpots, John 2. are filled with water to the brim: for it is the same word. Fiftly, they were in such fear, that the Disciples being some of them Fishermen, and so experienced with Sea storms, cry that they perish, and are gone; when the Shipmasters art faileth him, and the grayhaired Seamen go to their prayers, the passengers have cause to be afraid. But sixthly, that is not much, there is a good Seaman in the Ship, the great Lord admiral not of the Seas only, but also of the winds, is here; Lord admirals on earth cannot make winds and fair weather, all shall be well, the Creator of Sea and winds is here; yea but he is so here, as if he were not here to them, he is fast asleep; God save us from a sea-storm, when Christ is either far away from us, or sleeping.  
3. What course take the Disciples in their danger? first, they awake Christ with their prayer; secondly, they double their words, Luke saith, {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, master, m●ster, tutor, such as are heads of colleges, or take care of orphans, are so called. Christ tutors storms, and winds, and Church and Court, and all: Matthew saith {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, Lord, which signifieth Christ's dominion: mark {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, Master, for (if he can, and what can he not?) he'll help his Disciples, so they put an argument of help home upon Christ from his office. Thirdly, they complain, Carest thou not for us? What a master art thou, who sleepest when we are in danger to be drowned? so dream we Christ careth not for us, if he deliver not presently. Fourthly, they lay the danger before him, we perish.  
4. We have Christ's present helping of them, Matthew keepeth the natural method; Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? he first rebuketh the Disciples unbelief, before he rebuke the Sea and winds. Secondly, he spoke angry words to the Sea and winds, or laid a strict charge on the Sea and winds, as the word is, Luke 3. 12. Luke 9 21. or it is to rebuke with threatening and authority, 2 Tim. 4. 2. not because Sea and winds can stir without special commission from God, as the Poets fancied that their Aeolus could boast and chide the winds and cast them in fetters, but this is to express the absolute and invincible dominion of Christ over Sea and winds, they being his Apparitors and pursuivants, so that thirdly, Christ (as Mark saith) uttered angry words of authority and commanded the Sea, {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} be quiet, peace, and be still, {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} be muzzled, it is borrowed from wild beasts or dogs that are muzzled up that they cannot devour, so is the word, 1 Cor. 9 9 Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn; it is a hard trope, and holds forth to us the Sea as a devouring beast, that would swallow up ships; so Matth. 22. 34. Jesus stopped the mouths of the Sadduces.  
5. The effect of Christ's rebuking is here set down, there was without more ado a great calm; when Christ glowmeth upon the Sea it dare but smile and be still.  
6. The fruit of the miracle is here, the Seamen, not the Disciples were stricken with wonder and astonishment.  
Now it came to pass on a certain day. 
Part I.   
Touching the three particulars in the first part, a word first of the place, this was not properly a Sea, but a lake, not Lacus Gadarenus, of which Strabo saith beasts could not go through it, without the loss of hair and hooves, the waters being so pestilent, but it was the lake of Genesareth, through which Christ and his Disciples sailed to the Gadarens, called by a Hebraism the Sea of Tiberias.  
Secondly Christ's convoy in this Sea-journey were his Disciples. Seldom was Christ his alone, only when he went to a mountain to pray, as Ioh. 6. 15. and in the garden when his Disciples would not watch with him one hour. But ordinarily his Disciples, and others were witnesses of his doctrine and miracles. First, because the Disciples were to be eye-witnesses of him, to preach by sense as well as by faith, 1 John 1. 1. 2 Pet. 1. 18. And this voice which came from heaven we heard (saith Peter) when we were with him in the holy mount. 
Preachers are to converse much with Christ, & why▪  Sense of Christ's sweetness in Preachers is not so good as faith, but it is more excellent than hearsay; there is a sense of faith in such as have been in the Mount with Christ; I believed, therefore I spoke, 2 Cor. 4. 13. Sense of Christ is an excellent Preacher of Christ, Now believe we (say the Samaritans, Ioh. 4. 42.) not because of thy saying, for we have heard him ourselves; every faithful pastor is not only a messenger to speak tidings, but a witness who saw and heard the visions of God. Secondly, cross-bearing is not easily learned, Christ had the perfect art of it, Heb. 5. 8. the Disciples must see how straight Christ's shoulders are in walking under the cross; to learn to do is no difficile thing, in comparison of learning to suffer. Thirdly, we know our own weakness best in conversing with Christ. Christ's beauty and fairness casteth a shade and a light on our blackness; we are all fair enough while we see Christ's fairness, Esay 6. 5. Fourthly, the more you converse with Christ, the more you partake of heaven; to be with yourself is to be in ill company, to be with the world rubbeth rust on you, to be with Christ leaveth a smell of heaven, and a dye and colour of another world on you that you shall never rub off; to touch perfume and sweet ointments leaveth a witness behind it; none can preach nor suffer, but such as have been with Christ to see and hear; you may be called to a bloody death for Christ. I pray you ask when was you last with Christ, and how oft was you with him, or was you ever with him?  
Thirdly, 
{non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}.  the time of his sailing, Mark saith, in that same day when the evening was come, chap. 4. 35. that is, in the day that he preached the parables, you have Matth. 13. it is like he went to Sea in the evening, when he had preached all the day. Luke saith indefinitely on a certain day; 
Luc. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}.  how ever there is no waste of words, here two Evangelists, as their manner is, do write a diurnal of Christ's life and actions, 
How carefully Christ husbanded time.  they chronicle Christ's time carefully. Whence see we how well Christ husbanded his time upon earth, Act. 10. 38. he went about doing good: So in his message to Herod, Luke 13. 32, 33. Go tell Herod, Behold, I cast out devils, and do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. First, he spent whole nights in prayer to God, Luke 6. 12. wrought miracles in the night, at the fourth watch, Matth. 14. 25. yea now while he is sleeping he is making way for a miracle. Secondly, Early in the morning he taught in the Temple, John 8. 2. and while he was eating he loosed not time, but preached in time of dinner. Luke 7. 38, 39 Luke 10. 39, 40. and made it his meat and drink, when he should have eaten, to gain souls, Ioh. 4. 34. Thirdly, he began early, being twelve years of age, to dispute with the Doctors in the Temple, and died preaching and praying on the cross, Luke 23. 43. 44. 46.  
Then first, such are rebuked, as know not well their time, Ier. 8. 7. Yea the stork of the heaven knoweth her appointed times, and the Turtle, and the Crane, and the Swallow observe the time of her coming, but my people know not the judgement of the Lord. Who is wise to know when God is watering the Land with blood? 
How both kingdoms fail in improving of opportunities of mercy.  to know that the year 1645. is that year of vengeance that hath been in the Lord's heart against England and Scotland? This must be a part of prophecy, which the people knows not while God reveal it, Ezek. 7. 12. The time is come, the day draweth near, vers. 2. Also thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God, unto the Lord of Israel, an end, the end is come upon the four corners of the Land.  
Secondly, it were a right timing of actions if the honourable Parliament would begin not at the establishing of their own Liberties, laws, houses, but at the building of the house of God; the Lord hath given opportunity for many years of a sitting Parliament, and there is not yet a face of a Church in the Land, and scarcely is there one stone laid in the house of the Lord; men say, it is not yet time to build the house of the Lord.  
Thirdly, we have not known in this our day of the Gospel, these things that belong to our peace: had Tyrus and Sidon, Sodom and Gomorrah seen the days of the Son of man, which England and Scotland have seen, they should have repented long ago; and had we improved the gracious opportunities of mercy, our peace had been as a River, and our righteousness as the waves of the Sea; but now we are like broken men, unable so much as to cast up our accounts, far less to pay the rent of the Vineyard, when our Vine is as the Vine of Sodom, and our Grapes are Grapes of Gall; there is much underhand dealing against the cause and covenant of God; we did swear the extirpation of prelacy, Popery and schism, now we preach, profess and print that liberty is to be given for consciences of men, and how can this be denied to Papists and Prelates? not only every City, but every family almost hath a new Religion, the former unreprented will-worship in the breasts of men, against the power of godliness, vanity in apparel, whoring, extortion, unjustice to widows and Orphans whose husbands and parents were killed in the wars, drunkenness, excess, lying and cozening, unjust and false slanders and calumnies, trusting in the arm of men and multitudes, halting between God and Baal, postponing of Christ's matters to the end of the day, as if Religion and the house of God were of less concernment to us then liberties and civil laws, and as if both kingdoms miraculously defended by the right arm of God, against merciless and bloodthirsty Babylon, were not more obliged to the Lord of Hosts, who hath saved us, then that we should now be debtors to our own carnal ends, divisions, rentings, emulations, sides and factions; Ephraim against Manasseh, and Manasseh against Ephraim, though the children of one father: all these and many other sins tesifie to our faces that the time of the Gospel hath not been fruitfully improved by the two kingdoms.  
Fourthly, 
A general fail of all in the care less improvement of time.  all of us generally fail in the bad husbanding of time, we are a dying ere we know for what end we live; imagine a master send his servant to a great city with a written paper containing businesses of great concernment, having allotted to him the space of ten sandglasses to dispatch them all, should he for the space of the first nine hours fall a drinking with his drunken companions, and go up and down to behold all the novelties of the city, he should break trust; Alas! is not this world like a great Exchange? our Paper containeth the business of a great kingdom up above, the honour and glory of our Lord, our redemption through Christ, a treaty for everlasting peace; the time of infancy and childhood slippeth over, and we know not the end of our creation; youth-head and man's age like a proud meadow, green, fair, delightful to day, and to morrow hay, casteth blossoms and flowers, and with one little stride skippeth over our span-length of time, and we go through the Exchange to buy frothy honour, rotten pleasure, and when the last hour is come, we scarce read our Master's paper, we barter one nothing-creature with another; alas! it is but a poor reckoning that a natural man can make, who can say no more at his death, but I have eaten, drunken, sleeped, waked, dreamed and sinned, for the space of sixty or seventy years, and that is all. Time like a long swift sliding River runneth through the city from the creation, when God first set the horologue a going, to the day of Christ's second coming, this River slideth through our fingers, we eat, drink, sleep, sport, laugh, buy, sell, speak, breathe, die in a moment, every gasp of air is a flux of our minute's time sliding into eternity; within a few generations there shall be a Parliament of other faces, a new generation of other men in the Cities, Houses, Assemblies we are now in, and we a company of night-visions shall fly away, and our places shall know us no more: and though this should not be, the world is not eternal, being a great body made up of corruptible pieces, of little dying creatures, standing upon nothing, if God take the legs from them; at length God shall remove the passes of the watch, and time shall be no more, the wheels of time shall be at a stand. What poor thoughts shall we have of this poor fading ball of clay the earth, when the worms shall creep in through face & cheeks, and eat our tongue, and seize upon Liver and heart? or imagine that our spirits once entered within the line of eternity could but stay up beside the moon, and look down and behold us children sweating and running for our beloved shadows of Lands, Fields, Flocks, Castles, Towers, crowns, sceptres, Gold, Money, he should wonder that reason is so blear-eyed as to hunt dreams and toys. Judge righteously, give fair justice to Christ, do good while it is to day, consider the afternoon of a declining sun, within few hours we are plunged in the bosom and womb of eternity, and cannot return back again. Lord teach us to number our days.  
23. But as they sailed be fell a sleep, 
Part II.  and there came down a storm of wind, Matth. 8. 24. a great tempest. I keep the order laid down before; this is not an ordinary storm. But is not the most skilled Seaman in heaven and earth here? dare the wind blow so proudly on his face, who is white and ruddy, and the chief amongst ten thousand worlds? do not the Seas know their Creator? and dare they wet his face, who made the Sea and the dry Land? Yet from the greatness of this storm (as was cleared before from the Text) we observe that Christ his Ship, his Church, and passengers have in their sailing more than ordinary storms. Lamen. 1. 12. Is it nothing to all you that pass by? (alas! Christ in his sufferings hath too many passers by) Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, 
Christ and his Ship have more than ordinary storms.  wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me, in the day of his fierce anger! Chap. 2. 13. the Prophet cannot find a comparison to equal the church's sorrow. Thy breach is great like the Sea, who can beale thee? The Sea is a vast body, and a great Sea of troubles was like to drown the Church, Chap. 1. 9 Jerusalem came down wonderfully {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} is admirably, 
{non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}  the word is from a root which signifieth to be separated, and hidden as things above sense or reason, as Gen. 18. 14. Is there any thing hid, or too hard or admirable to the Lord, which he cannot do? there is some great and admirable thing in the Sword of the Lord, upon the three kingdoms above all that Irish rebels, or bloodly malignant's can do; the curse and vengeance in afflictions from men comes from a higher hand than men, men kill with the Sword, but they cannot stamp upon killing with the Sword judgement and vengeance, this only God doth. Lam. 2. 2. The Lord hath swallowed up all the inhabitants of Jacob, and hath not pitied. 4. He hath bent his bow like an enemy; O terrible, any enemy but God, is tolerable; the Lord stood with his right hand as an adversary, and slew all that was pleasant to the eye, (the sucking children are pleasant to the eye) in the Tabernacle of the daughter of Zion be poured out his fury like fire, v. 20. Behold, O Lord, and consider to whom thou hast done this: shall the women eat their fruit and children of a span long? shall the Priests and the Prophets be slain in the Sanctuary? Psal. 44. 19 Thou hast sore broken us, or bruised us, as in the place of Dragons, and covered us (as with a veil or covering, or garment, Psal. 32. 1.) with the shadow of death. Death is a cold, sad and fearful garment cast over the Church, and that when she is bruised to dust and powder: how sore and heavy a storm was upon poor Job? Chap. 16. 13. His archers compass me round about, (God's terrors shot not at the rovers, that God should miss the mark) he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare, he poureth out my Gall upon the ground. 14. He breaketh me with breach upon breach, and runneth on me as a Giant. What is safe in the living man, when the reins, that are as inward as the man's heart, are cloven asunder? and when Gall and Liver are taken out of the living man, and poured upon the earth? See how the Lord dealeth with his own people, Hos. 13. 8. I will meet them as a bear bereaved of her whelps, and will rent the cawl of their heart. It cannot be an ordinary pain, when the web of fate that compasseth about the heart, is torn asunder. There is a sad and a black book presented unto Ezekiel, Chap. 3. 10. a roll of a book written within and without (page and margin) lamentation, and mourning and woe, how doth the afflicted Church complain, Psal. 102. 3? My days are consumed as smoke (when yesterday's sad life is burnt to ashes, what is it?) and my bones are burnt as an birth, 4. My heart is smitten and withered like grass, so that I forget to eat my bread. 5. By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin. These and the like borrowed expressions, hold forth that the storm of afflictions was terrible and loud, as if it would cleave mountains and Rocks, and there must be such a pressure of pain here, as if you would take a living man's bones, and make fuel for fire, and use them as we do Faggots; and not that only, but they endured as much heat of fire as the hearth-stone that is daily under the extremity of the fire: so the Apostle speaketh of himself, 1 Cor. 4. 8. For I think God hath set forth us, {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, the last Apostl●s, as it were appointed to death, for we are made a spectacle to the world, and to men and Angels. The Apostles in regard of their great sufferings, were so exposed to violent death, as in the Roman plays, Bulls, Dogs, Lions, were set forth to fight one another to death; they were made worlds wonders, and gazing-stacks to heaven and earth, to men and Angels for their great sufferings. Behold how strong the tempest was, that invaded that bark, that carried the witnesses of Jesus to heaven, Heb. 11. 35. they were tortured, stoned, sawen asunder, tempted, slain with the Sword.  
The reason of the Lord's so dealing is. 
Reason why the afflictions of the people of God are so extreme.  1. God declareth himself more impatient of sin in his own children, then in the wicked; I mean of God's impatience evangelic, in regard that it is a sin of higher ingratitude to sin against the Gospel. 2. Illumination. 3. And the mercy of regeneration, then to sin against the Law, and common favours and gifts; though God's legal impatience in regard of revenging justice be far more against the sins of the wicked, then against the sins of believers, 
evangelic & legal anger in God.  it being an act of vengeance which God cannot exercise towards believers; and if Antinomians would acknowledge an evangelic displeasure and anger of God against the sins of believers, as the Scripture doth, 1 Cor. 10. 21, 22. 1 Cor. 11. 30, 31. 2 Sam. 11. 27. they should not so stumble at the Gospel as they do; I say, God is more displeased with the sins of his own children, then with the sins of the wicked; even as the husbandman is more offended that Thristles and Thorns grow in his Garden, then in his out-field, Esay 1. 2. Hear O heaven, harken O earth; why? it is more than an ordinary defection that moveth the Lord to this. I have nourished and brought up children, and they rebel against me. God taketh it also harder, that violence and unjustice should be in Parliaments and Assemblies, then in Prelates Courts and High Commissions. The Lord expecteth nothing else but sour grapes from his enemies. 2. The hell of the godly, and the heart of their hell should ordinarily be heavier than the borders and margin of the hell of the wicked: the sufferings of the Saints in this life is their whole hell: wicked men have here a heaven, and but foretastings of hell, which I grant, in regard they want the presence and comforts of God in this life, and also that their curses are in themselves heavier than the afflictions of the godly, but not so in their apprehension. 3. God's deep counsels work underboard; providence is a great mystery: why these three kingdoms having a good cause, and contending for Christ, yet should be put to a more bloody condition, and have more of floods of blood for a while, then bloody men who defend a cursed cause, is wondered at by us, as ignorance is the cause of admiration; he that never saw husbandry, thinketh sowing, losing and casting away of good corn; the end, cujus gratia, which seasoneth God's works with wisdom and grace, is unseen: honey is sweet, but tasting only discerneth it; neither eye can see it, nor ear can hear it; our senses cannot reach the reason of his counsel, who will have the godly plagued every morning.  
If it be so, 
use. 1.  that the godly, the green tree suffer such a fire, it must be more than fire that is abiding the enemies; O enemies of the Gospel, O Malignants and haters of the Lord and his Saints, have you Castles and strong holds to run to in the day of wrath? or are your castle's judgement-proof? Cannot death and hell scale your walls? and though you shut your doors, climb in at your windows? are your bulwarks and walls salvation? 
Wrath untolerable to the ungodly.  have you strength to bide the proof and shot of the vengeance of the Lord, and the vengeance of his Temple? hath not the second death long and sharp tusks? will you endure the siege and batteries of everlasting wrath? vengeance will have nothing under your precious souls; take your pleasure, kill and destroy the mountain of the Lord, the feast is good, ever, till the reckoning come: Job 28. 8. Can you drink a Sea of vengeance? and floods of gall and wormwood? there is a Sword before the throne furbished that will lap and swallow up blood and never be quenched: wrath, wrath creepeth on the sinners in Zion by theft, without a cry or noise of feet, you hear not the rattling of your sun's wheels, when it is setting, and the night falleth on you; the day of wrath is secret and uncertain, you sleep & you see not hell at your heels; what will you do, when you shall make your prayers to the hills, to cover you quick?  
This serveth to condemn our softness, 
use 2.  who love a wanton, and a smooth providence, 
We love a soft and a chosen providence of our own carving.  and Golden and silken sailing to be carried away quickly to land without wind or storm, we desire to go to Paradise through no other way but Paradise, and a way strewed with Roses; nay but we must endure hardness, and resolve the way cannot be changed to flatter our softness, it is as God hath carved it out, there be not two ways to heaven; one way strewed with blood, and brimstone, and deaths, to Christ, and another to us white, fair, easy; heaven was not so feasible to Christ, but it was to him sweating; if Christ had taken the fair way and a street to heaven like Paradise, and left the rough way to us, we had the more reason to complain. But it should silence us that Christ saith; you have no harder usage than the captain of your salvation had, Joh. 15. 18. when we see we must suffer, we would be at a chosen cross, and afflictions carved by our own wit, or flowered and perfumed with Diamonds and Rubies; so our heart saith any judgement but war, and any war but civil war; the hatred of the world is not much, but hatred from our brethren, the sons of our Mother, O that is hard! yet it is not to be expected but the flesh will war in the Saints against both the Spirit and the flesh in other Saints; no less than the flesh warreth against the Spirit in one and the same Saint, we are to kiss and adore providence, we can no more change the foul and dirty way to fair heaven, than we can remove heaven itself out of its place; God hath drawn and moulded the topography to heaven, and set all our Guests before; he is a bad soldier who followeth such a captain of salvation as Christ, weeping and murmuring.  
But what doth this ship lead us to? certain it is, that it holdeth forth to us the condition of the Church of God, tossed with wind and wave, and the world itself, the earth is a Sea of glass before the Throne, Revel. 4. 6. and that mingled with fire, 
Eight particulars considerable in the ship in which Christ and his Church is carried.  Revel. 15. 2. Of which a word, 1. of the ship, 2. of the Element it saileth in, 3. of the Pilot, 4. of the Anchor and appurtenances, 5. of the wares, 6. of the passengers carried in the ship, 7. of the winds and storms, 8. of the Port and Haven. The ship is, of its nature, a tumbling and a moving creature, and by its constitution and nature ordained for motion. The Church triumphing is landed, and above motion, but the militant Church is a rolling and a tumbling thing; and that first, 
The Church a movable thing as a ship.  in a natural; secondly, in a civil; thirdly, in a spiritual relation. As the Church consisteth of men in a natural consideration, all are but changes and mere motions; for man's condition in the wood of creatures, he is borne amongst is movable, he himself is a proud inch of short-living clay. God hath given wheels to time, so that it playeth upon generations, Eccles. 1. 4. One generation passeth away and another cometh, vers. 5. The sun also riseth, and the sun goeth down; the moon looketh not on us, two days, with one face; elements, winds, floods, seas, time, as years, days, hours, living creatures, trees, herbs, flowers, summer, harvest, spring, heavens, stars are all tottering and reeling; and if the earth and the works that are therein, must be burnt with fire, 2 Pet. 3. 12. all must be on their journey toward change and corruption; the best of them for elegancy of matter not excepted. The heavens shall wax old as a garment, Psal. 102. 26. 2 The Church in a civil relation is a rolling thing, and that first, as it is in commonwealths and States. kingdoms and Monarchies are up and down, green, flourishing, and withering in their cadency like May flowers. God doth roll Kings and kingdoms like bowls in an Alley; pride, tyranny, unjustice putteth a bias on the bowl that it tumbleth over the mount, and God with a put of his foot turneth the bowl out of its place; the glory and absoluteness of men is a weight that cannot bear itself. Secondly, man the best of the creatures is a vain thing, Psal. 39 Every man at his best state is altogether vanity▪ 
{non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}  if the Hebrew express it better (as I humbly conceive it doth) it runs thus, ver. 6. surely, all men are all vanity, even standing on their feet, or every man is every vanity, though he stand on his tiptoes, or stand straight up, as a Champion or an army of soldiers that stand fast and keep their ground, for so the word {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} signifieth as the learned observe, vanity is a light, a moving and rolling thing, like a Cart wheel or a feather in the air. Thirdly, the Church for one good day of ease hath ten, twenty troublesome days of war, persecution, divisions, heresies, plots. Read the History of the Judges, and of the persecuting, yea and Christian Emperors, and you shall see the ups and downs of the Church, they had ease, yea and court and favour with godly Emperors, but a very short time. Thirdly, in their spiritual relation, the Church is a moving thing: in that, 1. change is a part of sufferings, and suffering and the cross is the patrimony of the Church; whereas David saith of the wicked, Psal. 55. 19 Because they have not changes, therefore they fear not God; Meab is not moved from vessel to vessel, 
Great change of the spiritual condition of the Church, & of particular Saints.  and hath not gone to captivity, therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed, Jer. 48. 11. Secondly, the Song of Solomon showeth the inward and spiritual ups and downs, and changes of the Church; as sometime Chap. 2. it is full noonday with the Church; she being taken into the banqueting house, and Vers. 4. his banner over her was love; and she is in great Court, Vers. 16. My well beloved is mine, and I am his, he feedeth among the lilies, 17. till the day break, and the shadows flee away; but there is a change of Court, and a great revolution, Chap. 3. 1. By night, on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth, I sought him, but I found him not. again, Chap. 4. there is a revolution, Christ breaketh out in a high commendation and praise of his Church, Chap. 4: Vers. 16. there is a prayer of hers in sense of love and heat of faith for an union; Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits; here the ship hath fair weather, and sails fair before the wind, for Christ answereth, Ch. 5. 1. I am come unto my garden, my sister, my spouse, I have gathered my myrrh, with my spice, I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey, I have drunken my wine with my milk, eat O friends, yea drink abundantly, O beloved; this is a joyful feast between Christ and his Church. But this world lasteth not always; she falleth asleep and holdeth Christ at the door, and there is mighty storm that tosseth the ship, and a sad discourting of her; for it is far otherways, Vers. 6. I sought him, but I could not find him, I called him, but he gave me no answer. Grace, as it is in God, is God gracious, and is most stable and unchangeable, but it is various, as it is received in us, who are made of changes, and a difference there must be between a communion of grace and a communion of glory, and 2. between this life and that life; as for the former, glory is grace in everlasting action, and therefore there is no desertions in heaven, no hiding of God's face, no cloud, no night, no change, nothing but a sun in its full strength; always day without night, a full Sunshine without a cloud or a shadow. Grace in us is a habit, and not always in action, and our stability here (as touching the other) is Heb. 13. Vers. 14. that we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come, this is a tottering life.  
Secondly, 
The Ship saileth in a Sea of glass, mingled with fire.  the ship saileth in an element called a Sea of glass, all things here are frail, slippery, brickle like glass, it cannot bear the ship above, no more than a board of glass can sustain the weight of an huge ship, but it should break in a thousand pieces; certainly the Church subsisteth by no worldly strength, Christ saileth with his own wind, than it it is a Sea of glass mingled with fire, Rev. 15. 2. There be cumbustions, wars, tumults, motions, and mighty winds in this Sea, that that may be fulfilled which Christ saith to the passengers, John 16. 33. in the world you shall have tribulation.  
Thirdly, all the safety of the ship is in a good pilot, now Christ who can sail with every wind, and bringeth many broken ships to land, he sitteth at the helm and setteth the halfdrowned ship-broken passengers on dry land to sing on the shore, Revel. 7. 14. These are they (the ship broken men who swimmed to land on planks and broken boards) that have come out of great tribulation (out of the Sea of glass mingled with 〈◊〉) and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. The Ship is sailing in Britain now in a Sea of blood, Christ must bring her safe to land.  
Fourthly, 
Hope the Anchor of the Church.  there be three excellent virtues of the anchor of hope, Heb. 6. 19, 20. first, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, out of danger and sure. Secondly, it is tothed in good ground, it is up within the veil in heaven; he must shake heaven, who loseth the Anchor. Thirdly, Christ the forerunner, who leapt first ashore, and as the first begotten of the dead, first hanselled heaven with our fresh, hath the far end of the Anchor in his hand. Christ strengtheneth the Tackling and the cords of the ship; the Church a ventruous Pinnage, that through the strength of Christ ventures thorough, 2 Cor. 6. 5. Stripes, imprisonments, tumults, labours, watchings, fastings, by honour and dishonour, through evil report and good report, and landeth safe, John 14. 3. I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also.  
Fiftly, 
The wares of the ship.  the precious pearl of the Gospel is carried in this ship, yea Christ who holdeth the seven stars, and walketh in the midst of the golden Candlesticks, is in the ship. be not afraid (said the Emperor to the waterman) th●u carriest Caesar: So here Christ saith to the shipmen, be not afraid, you carry the King of Kings in this poor bark of the Church; indeed there be more precious wares in the ship, then if she carried from India millions of Navies of Gold, and shipfulls of Diamonds and Rubies.  
Sixtly, 
Seven sorts of passengers in the ship.  there be many passengers of divers qualities, of which I speak with reference to the times; as first, some green professors believed (as children do) it was but a play to be engaged for the good cause. But when the King left his Parliament and made war with his good Subjects of both kingdoms, they then became to be sea-sick, and to vomit out their protestations and covenant; men should seriously put down in paper aforehand what it will cost them, if they indent with Christ to follow him, Luke 14. 28. Secondly, some engaged to the cause and embarked upon life and death did cast themselves in the Sea, thinking to swim to the nearest shore, they stole away from Christ, and cast Cause, gospel, laws and Liberties over board to save themselves, but he that will save his life, shall lose it. Thirdly, some still remain in the ship, but as Judas did with Christ, waiting an opportunity either to play a game for Malignants, or to foster divisions between the kingdoms, and divisions in the Church, to raise a mutiny amongst the passengers of Christ, that the one half may throw the other over board in the Sea. Fourthly, Some are like Jonab, down in the sides of the ship sleeping; these are indifferent passers by, Lament. 1. 12. they'll neither sweat at the pump, nor lay one finger on a rope, nor move an oar, but (say they in their heart) Christ is a good enough Seaman, if he will not guide his own ship to shore, let him see to it. Fiftly, some passengers are merchant men; their Sea voyage in the ship is to gain, to buy and sell Religion, and live on the winning, these that would draw in to themselves gain from the public now, would crucify Christ for his coat. Sixthly, some trusting in multitude and strength think by hard rowing and sweating at the oars to bring the ship to land; but a horse is a vain help. Seventhly, sincere professors are willing to stay, and take fair or foul weather with Christ, to sink or swim with the gospel, and not only to stay, but to row and pray. We cannot but see winds and storms, loud and mighty tossing the poor ship in Britain; Pirates and robbers have made stops in the ship by plots, much underwater is come in. Eighthly, though the winds be strong and the Sea tempestuous, yet the port is sure, for this is the promise of the Lord who sits at the helm, Esay 54. 11. O thou afflicted and tossed with tempests, behold I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with Saphires. Christ can sail with contrary winds, yea the harbour is near; Behold I come quickly, (saith the Lord); in the greatest storm that ever was, the Church can see the shore and dry land, Mic. 7. 9 and faith in war seeth peace, and in shipwreck is assured of the land, and in saddest times, when God is farthest off, the children of God feel the smell of the flowers of the higher garden Romans 5. 3. We rejoice, or we leap for joy, in tribulation.  
[And he was fast asleep.] we are here to consider farther of the condition that they were it; 
Why Christ took on our nature and infirmities.  it is a storm, but Christ sleepeth. First, a word of Christ's sleeping. Secondly, of his sleeping at this time. If we compare the Text with itself we shall find, he was sleeping, who can neither slumber nor sleep, and that he is waking while he is sleeping, for he who is the mighty God, the Prince of peace, and rebuked the Sea and the winds, and there was a calm, does not sleep. How then? can God sleep? he that is in one person God-man can sleep. First, because in this rare piece of our redemption, Christ-God took all our infirmities on him, except sin, as he took our nature, so he took our condition and place, to express the depth of the love of God to mankind; the lower and the baser our glorious redeemer was, it hath the greater impression of love. 
Christ, God and man, and why.  Love, love answereth all our questions of wonder. O way of life, why wast thou wearied? O bread of life, why wast thou hungry? O well of life, why wast thou thirsty? Hast thou not made all the fountains and all the Vines in Judea, and in all the earth? O ancient of days, why becamest thou young, and a weeping infant? blessed Jesus would become a workhouse of sufferings and infirmities for us; and love, free love answereth all these questions; for us, for us sinners he came thus low. Secondly, here is a wonder, if there be a wonder in the world, Christ God and man in one person is more than a miracle. The mighty God giving infinite subsistence to a finite nature, Isa. 9 6. Thirdly, here is an able and sufficient Saviour furnished to us, one who is more than a man; why? there was not only need of infinite worth and merit to the person, but of infinite strength under the sufferings; man as man is but a creature, and all the Angels in heaven and a world of worlds of new created Angels could not endure the infinite wrath of God, and therefore God must be in this play, unless all had been marred. Qu. But the Godhead could not suffer nor be a passive subject of suffering, God therefore though be had not made one person with the manhood, might have added actively strength to a man to endure and suffer all that Christ suffered. Answ. It is true, the Godhead was no formal passive subject of either infirmities or sufferings in Christ, and God might have added to one who is only man possibly strength to suffer the terrors of the second death without despairing: but than it could not be said, that in that case these sufferings should have been the sufferings and blood of God, and so of infinite worth and merit. But here all strength, and which is more, all worth and merit of suffering came from the Godhead, 
The influence of the Godhead in Christ's sufferings was active, not passive.  which may be illustrate from two comparisons. First, suppose there were a fair rose in the southest part of the earth, nearest the sun, growing in great beauty, but in danger to be burnt up with the extreme heat of the sun, yet if we should imagine there were at the root of this same rose a cold refreshing fountain and Spring of water, sending up an oily and lively soap of life to the rose, so that how much the parching heat of the sun consumed and wasted of the life and greenness of the Rose, the fountain eternally furnished as much of new vigour and life to it, we may think if the fountain were eternal so to act upon the Rose, the Rose must be eternally green and never wither: So the flower of Issai, Jesus Christ the fair Rose of Sharon, that lily of the field never planted with hands, that blessed man who was a son without a father, though the parching sun of the infinite wrath of God, for our sins did burn him, and look upon him to consume him, as he complained, Psal. 22. 15. My strength is dried up like a potsherd. 17. I may tell all my bones; yet the blessed Godhead, in a personal union, was like an oily fountain at his root, that contributed the active influence of life, courage, vigour and strength, so as this rose could not but grow in death, and the excellency of his person makes the sufferings of infinite worth. And even as the Scarlet and purple curtains in the Tabernacle cast a glance and lustre on the golden mercy-seat, when the ark was within the Tabernacle: so the purple wounds and blood of Jesus Christ and all his infirmities received an excellent sweet lustre, worth and beauty from the glorious and more than golden Godhead of our true and living ark the son of God. It may also be thus cleared, the Iron wedges of Noah's ark separated from the ark, and cast into the waters should sink to the bottom, but being fastened in the ark they fleet above the water: the manhood separated from the Godhead should sink under the wrath that Christ did sustain, but being wedged and united to the Godhead, in a personal union, could not but ride out against all the storms: O blessed be our sure Ark. Now though suffering could not touch the Godhead passively, yet could the Godhead actively contribute to the strengthening of the Manhood for suffering.  
Hence we are to conceive if Christ the Redeemer, 
use 1.  Christ personal, was a Standard-bearer that could not faint under all his sufferings and infirmities, Christ mystical is more than men, I mean the Church of Christ must have also strength against all the persecutions of men; there is a bone in the head of the Church, that is, strength in Christ that cannot be broken, malignant's shall fight against Mount Zion, but shall not prevail, there was never any victory that the seed of the Serpent or Satan could obtain against Christ, but the bruising of his heel, that is a poor victory, a wound in the heel, or a bleeding heel is far from the heart; Malignants are but drawing blood of Christ's heel, in these bloody wars. But they do but thresh the waters, Christ hath endured more than the wrath of the King of Britain, and believe it, he shall be victorious and shall prevail.  
If Christ be such a wonderful one that is God no less than man, 
use 2.  it is neither piety nor good policy to take any thing from him that is his due; if Caesar had stepped in and usurped a headship over the Assembly convened in the name of Christ, 
It were sacrilege in the Roman Empire and Senate to give out decrees to the Churches as the Apostles and Elders did, Acts 15.  Act. 15. and had said it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us the Roman Emperor and Senate of Rome, to enjoin such laws to the Churches of Christ; and should put the name of the Emperors and Parliaments decrees on these which are called the decrees of the Apostles and Elders at Jerusalem, as they are called, Act. 16. 4. I conceive the Apostles would have called it a wronging of Christ the King of the Church, in his prerogative royal, and an abridging of the freedom of his Court; nor was it ever in our heart to teach that the Christian Magistrate is with blind obedience to execute the decrees of the Church; for this poor argument, if it have any nerves, as it would cast upon us the doctrine of Papists and Jesuits to make the ways of Christ odious, it hath as great strength against the preaching of the Gospel; for if Paul or any faithful Pastor preach to the Magistrates of Berea that Christ, whom the Jews crucified, is the only Redeemer and Saviour of the world, and that therefore they are as nurse-fathers' to give liberty to the Servants of God, to preach this doctrine, and to hinder any to persecute such as shall preach this doctrine, yet by their civil authority, and ex officio, they are not for that, with blind obedience to receive it, and not to search the Scriptures to try whether that which is preached be agreeable to the Scriptures, nor to take it upon the bare authority of the Preacher, but they are to search the Scriptures, and obliged to believe the preached gospel. But not as Magistrates either to preach themselves, or to judge authoritatively by virtue of their office, whether the Preachers doctrine be the Gospel of Christ, or no: so if a Synod, by the holy Ghost, and the light of Scriptures determine any thing for discipline or censure, the Magistrate as he may as a Christian try the word preached, so may he the same way try the decrees and determinations of the Church, and not take them upon blind trust, and accordingly punish the contraveners as a magistrate, and as he is the Minister of God that beareth his sword; but yet he can no more as a Magistrate, and by his office prescribe such ecclesiastic laws, (as we have Acts 15. v. 28, Act. 16. 4.) unto the Churches of God, or as a Magistrate and by his office judge them unlawful, and forbid them, than he can preach the word, or say, it seemed good to the holy Ghost, and to me who bears the Sword, to command that the Churches observe such and such laws. But we shall hardly believe that the honourable Houses will take on them supreme authority above the Assemblies and courts of the Lord Jesus, or that they will give occasion to all the Protestant Churches in the world who prayeth for them, to write against their proceedings.  
[And he was fast asleep] What? should Christ sleep now, as Lonab did, when God seemeth to be angry with all in the ship? 
Innocency can sleep sound amidst the greatest calamities.  Nay but Christ holdeth forth to us by his sleeping, that innocency and a good conscience can sleep securely amidst the greatest calamities and storms, and not be afraid. This is made good by these grounds of Scripture; as first, God hath a chamber and a pavilion to save his own people in, so are they spoken to Esay 26. 20. Come my people, enter into thy Chambers, and shut thy doors about thee, hide thyself for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. Secondly, God not only saveth his own from trouble, but also from the fear of trouble, Psal. 3. 5. I laid me down and slept. 6. I will not be afraid of ten thousand of the people, that have set themselves against me round about, Psal. 23. 4. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Thirdly, there is yet a higher degree to which a good conscience can ascend, for Eliphaz saith, Job 5. 22. At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh, faith is so above death, that it maketh a holy sporting at death, 1 Cor. 15. 55. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? It is much to look death on the face and to laugh; believe and triumph. It is true, the Godly are fittest to be soldiers, and faith hath more true courage for the war then thousands of men, yet are not means to be despised. God will not have us to work miracles on the warrant of our own private spirit, though God work miracles himself; David saith, Psal. 141. 7. that the Lord covered his head in the day of battle; yet he putteth on a helmet on his head himself in the day of battle, and was a man of war. 2 Sam▪ 17. 10. There is reason why the Saints are secure in God, in the greatest calamity, because peace with God maketh peace with bullets, and swords and spears, and these go well together, Psal. 149. 6. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two edged sword in their hand: and faith knoweth nothing of base fear; when there are storms without, to the believer, there is fair weather within, faith is a grace above time, as there is neither rain nor winds above the second region of the air, therefore the camp should be purged of achan's. Secondly, unbelief hath a wide apprehension, and is full of jealousies and fears, and believeth every bush to be an armed man, Prov. 28. 1. The wicked feeleth when none pursueth, but the righteous {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} is confident as a Lion, or as a young Lion, courage and animosity is vigorous and green in the young Lion, for when the believer hath closed a covenant with death, not such a one as is Esay 28. 15. but such a covenant as taketh in Christ as a party with the believer, in which he is in Covenant with the wild beasts of the field, Hos. 2. 18. and with the stones of the fields, than is he secure, for if death be the Saints servant, 1 Cor. 3. 22. why but we should have law-surety in Christ, with our servant, that death shall not hurt us? 1 Cor. 15. 55. and if the grave be our bed of rest, why should not the sick man be at peace with his own Couch, and with his own post that conveyeth him over the water to heaven? the believers death is a sleep, 1 Cor. 15. 6. 51. 1 Cor. 4. 14. than it must be a sweet and sound sleep, as is the sleep of the godly, whereas such as sleep wrapped in such a winding-sheet as the sins of their youth, Job 20. 11. cannot have a sound sleep, but as an ill conscience prophesyeth vengeance, as we see in Haman's wife, Esth. 8. 13. and in Cain, Gen. 4. 14. so the bones of a reprobate in the grave must in a manner prophecy hell and wrath to him.  
[he was fast asleep] Christ-man did but sleep, 
How God is said to sleep.  for otherways, Psal. 121. 4. Behold he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. Yet in our trouble God is said to sleep, not that spirits, far less the Creator of spirits, doth sleep, only he seemeth to sleep. i. when we dream that God letteth things go at six and seven, and when he seemeth to cock the wheels of his providence, and worketh not for us, his arm seemeth to sleep, Esay 51. 9 Awake, awake, put on strength O arm of the Lord, awake as in the ancient days, in the generations of old; now the sleeping of his arm is the sleeping of his power, and he saith, Vers. 5. My righteousness is near, my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; his arm is his power to judge between his Church and his enemies, Psal. 44. 23. Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? Psal. 7. 6. Awake O Lord, for the judgement that thou hast commanded.  
But why should Christ sleep when his cause requireth he should wake?  
Ans. Beside that this was a proof of his human nature united personally with his Godhead, that a sleeping man was God who could command the Sea, and the winds, it was expedient that this storm should rise when Christ was sleeping, for it might seem to arise against his will, if he had been waking: or rather God of purpose will have extreme dangers to come on his Church, and he will seem to sleep and to be far off, to waken up our sleeping faith. Hence the doctrine is, 
God will have his Church & cause within a hair's breadth of losing, except he arise and help.  God will have his Church and cause to be brought within a hair breadth of losing, except the Lord arise and be only be a present help in trouble. Consider that Christ-man (if we lay aside the decree of God) was capable of drowning, stoning or any death as well as crucifying, and in this ship was carried Christ the hope of heaven, and all the ends of the earth, and the eleven Disciples were in the same danger, they had a word of promise that they should be his witnesses to carry the Chariot of the Gospel to all the world, and to subdue the nations to Christ by the preaching of the word, and were to be brought before Kings and rulers for a testimony to all nations, and to be scourged, killed, persecuted of all men for Christ's sake; here be both a promise, and prophecies, and all seems to be loosed as fallen in the bottom of the Sea; Christ and Apostles and the ship are within less than two or three fingers breadth of death. The Church was at a low ebb in Egypt, the male children must be drowned in the River, the life of the aged is toiled and worn out of them. Omnipotency with nine heavy plagues cannot get the people of God freed out of the hands of a Tyrant. God must step in with immediate omnipotence in the tenth plague to pull out his people with a stretched out arm. Moses his word of deliverance and God's decree of bringing out the people is upon the extreme bank and margin of perishing: Israel hath an host of cruel enemies behind them, and the raging Sea before them, and mountains on every side, here be many deaths in a circle round about the Church, this is like to God sleeping and the wheels of providence at a stand, there is no place for help from a creature except immediate omnipotency break a gap in the circle, and divide the red Sea; the Church of God is a field of dry and dead bones, so as it is said, Ezek. 37. 2. Behold the bones were {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} very or exceeding dry, and they say, Vers. 11. our hope is loosed, and we are cut off; yet we know God made his own word good, Vers. 12. Behold O my people, I will open your graves, and bring you to the land of Israel, Deut. 32. 36. The Lord shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants. But when shall that be? 
{non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}  Omnipotency is good at a dead lift; when he seeth their strength is gone, Heb. that their hand is gone, and there is none shut up and left, when the Saints have neither hands nor feet, the Lord ariseth: for Christ can sail with half wind, and play about and fetch a compass, yea he can sail against tide and wind, and with no wind, he never sinks his bark, nor breaks his helm, nor loses a passenger, nor misseth his harbour, so how hopeless was the condition of the Church, when loving Jesus Christ is couched under a cold stone in the grave? the only hope of David's throne, he who was to restore the kingdom to Israel is gone; and what shall the people of God now do? utter desolation is so near that God is put to it, and the poor church's coal so cold, that they are at Lord either now or never, either within three days restore the head of the Church or never. Then the Lord, Act. 5. 31. exalted buried Christ, with his right hand to be a Prince, and a Saviour to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.  
1. Reason. 
Why God saveth not while the Church be between the sinking and the swimming.  omnipotency can walk in the extreme and out most margin and most pendulous bank hanging over hell, and not fall; Christ can drive his Chariot over mountains and rocks and not break one pin or wedge of it, poor nothing to omnipotency is as good as spear and Shield.  
2. Reas. This declares the depth of the wisdom of God's unsearchable dispensation, he suffereth malignant's to ride over his people, that he may perfume the work of hell in the enemies, who are, as it were, scullions to purge the vessels of mercy and to humble them, and may instampe their Acts with supernatural events of faith and patience; malignant's plow the Church, and sow blood in the three kingdoms, the father of Christ the good husband man comes in to break the clods and the fallow ground, and reap the crop of the quiet fruits of righteousness; and it is depth of wisdom to consider how God maketh use of men's sinful engagements having chainzed men to his cause, and carries his own holy and clean work of reformation through many foul hands and dirty intentions: so when men thwart and cross God's will of precept, they serve God's will of providence; a passenger walks on the hatches of the ship toward the west, Sea, and tide and wind do carry both him, his motion and ship to the east, the wisdom of God the Pilot of his Church overpowereth men's intentions which are set on gain, honour, factions, their own by-ends, ease and pleasure.  
It is not unlike that when this work now under the Lord's wheels in Britain is come to a height of extreme desolation, that we are at this, Lord, either now or never, and the Sea is come in at the broad side of the ship, that the Lord will deliver by some immediate way; and we see fevers come to a height, and then decrease and cool: and when doth the Sea turn to an ebbing? not while it flow to the utmost score of the coast, and then be fullest; seldom doth ever the Lord deliver his Church while their hope be gone, and what if it be so here, that Parliaments, Assemblies, armies of and in both kingdoms, navies, shippings, treaties, victories can do no more? and than the Lord arise, and by some immediate omnipotency we never dreamed of, calm our Sea, and bring his own ship to land. First, you never saw creatures do any great work, but something was left to omnipotency and to God only to be done. Moses led the people out of Egypt, but he could not divide the red Sea, and that was their way. Secondly, in God's greatest works immediate providence hath had hand. The victory over Midian had more of God's immediate work, then of Gideon's Sword in it: this truly to me is one continued miracle that these 1600 years, God hath carried his ship and kept the passengers alive, when persecuting Emperors, when bloody Babylon, when heretics, Kings the horns of the beast that rose out of the Sea, fire, faggots, sword, torments have torn the sails of Christ's Ship, broken the Mast, drowned the passengers, yet we live. Joseph is blessed, but when he is separated from his brethren, than blessings come upon the head of Joseph.  
He was fast asleep.  
This is the saddest circumstance in their suffering. What is death and the drowning of them all, so they have Christ with them? 
The presence of God in trouble how comfortable.  But Oh! Christ to their sense is as good as absent; for he is fast alseepe; and as they complain, he careth not for them; Christ walking and working for a soul in the saddest affliction of the world is a blessed visitation. To be in heaven, if Christ sleep and be not with you, is a hell, and to be in hell and want his presence, is two hells; to be sick, and the only physician Christ will not come at me, is two hells. God's watching presence, first, bringeth the courage of faith: To be in the midst of devils, the believer having God with him walketh without fear; even cold death that king of terrors walking with him at his right side, he hath a passport that will take him safe through the grave, as these places prove, Psal. 16. 8, 9, 10. Psal. 23. 4. Psal. 46. 2. 3. Mic. 7. 8. Secondly, God is not present with his own in trouble as the picture of a friend, who hath much love in his heart while he stands at your bed side seeing you go to a great hell through a little hell of sickness and pain, and cannot take off you one grain weight of sorrow and pain. But God is in a far other manner present, Psal. 91. 15. I will be with him in trouble, but this is not all, I will deliver him, Esay 43. 2. when thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the Rivers, they shall not overflow thee, when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt; nor is Christ in trouble like our Summer-friends who in a great drough dry up.  
But may not God be with his own, though they be both burnt & drowned? then this is no consequent at all, fear not that the fire shall burn thee, or the waters shall drown thee, for I am with thee; yea it is most strong, this presence of God with his own in trouble maketh God and them so one, by God's union of love, (for God's love to us is infinitely more active to save us, then either our faith and love to him) that the fire that burneth Jacob must also seize upon God, according to that, Zach. 2. 8. He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of his eye. Thirdly, when Christ waketh and sleepeth not in heavy afflictions, his love is so in action, even while he striketh, that the rod falleth out of his hand, that he 1. giveth them not so hot a fire, as silver, and 2. he acteth love and mercy on them in their saddest time of suffering, and marrieth them at their lowest condition; both which are excellently expressed, Esay 48. 10. Behold, I have refined thee, but not as silver, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. Fourthly, we may add another benefit of the presence of God in afflictions, that the very breath of Christ is sweet, though he should not deliver for the present, yet the smoke of hell and the pain of the furnace is so perfumed and over-gilded with the breathings of the love of Christ, that the pain of the furnace is allayed; this is witnessed by the Martyrs singing at the stake; If in these bloody sufferings we want God's presence, how miserable are we? and therefore this is one of the proper marks of the children of God, if we can miss God's comfortable presence in this fiery trial that is now in the three kingdoms: So Lament. 1. 16. for these things I weep, mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, yea but these sufferings are but the material object of weeping, there is a higher cause of weeping then that, and set down in the Hebrew as a cause with an {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} because the comforter that should bring back my soul is far away: 
{non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}  Christ esteemed this the salt of his sufferings; My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? there is a great Emphesis in {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} and therefore the word is doubled: as if he would say, any forsaking of friends is nothing, but God's forsaking is sad: and Heman, Psal. 88 6. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the depths. 7. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, thou afflictest me with all thy waves; but this is the heaviest of all, 14. Lord why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me? positive wrath is not so heavy as the mere negative absence of God. Mary her want of the man Christ is sad, but she wants him under an higher reduplication, John 20. 13. The Angels say unto Mary Magdalen, Woman why weepest thou? she answereth with a because, {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, Because they have taken away my Lord; Sword and pestilence, yea the civil sword are heavy plagues on a land, but this is heavier, God hath left us, O terrible! the Lord is not with us.  
Luke 8. 24. 
Part III.  And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. 
The unity and harmony of Christ's Disciples in their trouble.   
The third part of the text containeth the course they take in their trouble. It is good that in their trouble they agree in these four. First, that there is a great danger, even present drowning. Secondly, they look spiritually on it in this, that the face of death is so much the more awful that Christ their deliverer sleepeth. Thirdly, they agree in judgement that Christ only can help them. Fourthly, they agree in practice, all join in prayer to awake Christ, and by faith to awake him, and set him on work to help and save them. It is excellent when one heart and one mind is amongst all the passengers of Christ's ship, especially in a troublesome Sea storm. Gen. 13. Abraham and Lot's herdsmen strive. But it is so much the worse that it is said, Vers. 7. and the Canaanite and the Perizite dwelled then in the land, they had common enemies, 
Reasons for Christian unity.  and therefore striving was unseasonable; holy Joseph (when his brethren was in great distress, falling out was unseasonable) therefore saith to them, Gen. 45. 24. See that ye fall not out by the way: Alas! we are in great trouble, and yet we fall out by the way: it was a sad time with the Disciples near to the time when the shepherd was smitten and they scattered sheep, when Christ said, John 13. 35. By this shall all men know that ye are my Disciples, if ye love one another.  
Do but hear how Paul is most copious in arguments for this in one Verse, Philip. 2. 1. If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, 2. Fulfil my joy, that ye may be like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, and of one mind Psal. 133. 1. to be of one mind in love, is the fulfilling of the joy of the Saints; biting and devouring is a hole, a gap, a great blank to the joy of the holy Ghost; love neighboureth with the sweet consolations of Christ, it is the birth, a fruit, an Apple growing on the spirit of Jesus, Gal. 5. 22. in the womb and bowels of love lodgeth bowels of tender mercies; pardoned sinners cannot so hate pardoned sinners as to jeer them out of the hearts of the Saints, & end them to the lake of Brimstone. Ps. 133. Behold how good, and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. Many things are good, as works of divine justice, and destroying the enemies of God, yet they are not pleasant; and many things are pleasant that are not good, as the pleasures of sin for a season must be pleasant; but because unlawful, they are not good; but unity amongst brethren is both good and pleasant; now because striving and bitter divisions in this land and Church are so sad, and a lovely and peaceable union so necessary, give me leave to press this a little; the motion of a loving union were desirable.  
First, because our Father the Lord appeared to Elias, not in the thunder, but in the calm voice. Love is not only from God, but 1 John 4. 8. God is love, and that in all the four causes of love: See how much of God is in any, as much of love and meekness is in them; love is the breathings of heaven, love is the air and element we live in, in the highest new Jerusalem, 1 Cor. 13. 8. 13. The redeemeds breath smells of love, and love hath the smell of another world; it is a flower of Christ's planting, the blessings and prayers of the good husbandman Christ's Father came on the flower, Psal. 133. 3. The dew of God lieth all the night upon the leaves of the flower, it is always green. The Church is a house that is builded up in love, that raiseth the wall up to heaven, Ephes. 4. 16.  
Secondly, Christ our redeemer, whose we are, being bought with a price, is a mass of love, he hath a heart very hospital to lodge all our infirmities; when he saw his people, as touching the condition of their soul, like sheep without a shepherd, {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, he was bowelled with compassion toward them: Esay 40. when the Prophet speaketh of his power and his ruling arm, he also prophesyeth of his meekness and bowels of compassion to weak ones; there be three sorts of persons in the Church that he shall handle tenderly. 1. The simple but gracious, and for these, Vers. 11. he shall feed his fl●cke like a shepherd; he hath the heart of a shepherd who tendereth and careth for the flock. 2. There be young ones, babes in Christ, and of these it is said, he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, two excellent sweet expressions, he shall not throw his club at the Lambs, nor be froward and cruel to them, but in lieu of a club, he shall gather them with his arm. 3. And as for the young and weak that have not legs, he shall carry these in his bosom; the bosom of Christ is a seat of love and tenderness of bowels. 4. There be some in the Church that want not their infirmities and sins, and have legs, and a little strength, yet the tenderness of the bowels of compassion must yield them, some Christian condescension and accommodation, and they must not be forced and driven roughly, Christ's Spirit is a spirit of accommodation, Sir I'll make you in despite of your teeth, is not for these, and therefore it is said, he shall gently lead those that are with young, so Esay 42. 2. Jesus Christ shall not cry nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the streets, Christ hath not the art of railing, shouting and thundering against the meek of the flock. Yea Christ rideth and triumpheth in meekness, Zach. 9 9 his horse he rideth on, is meekness, Psal. 45. 4. it is spoken to him, Ride prosperously upon truth and meekness, and Psal. 147. 6. This Lord lifteth up the meek, and Psal. 76. 9 bee will save all the meek of the earth: Christ's heart is King Solomon's Chariot, the pillars of it is, (Cant. 3. 10.) Silver, the bottom thereof Gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem. And Christ chooseth to dwell in a heart paved with love and meekness.  
Thirdly, the Spirit of the Lord is a Dove, the spirit of grace is a gaullesse and gentle spirit. Grace, grace is the innocentest thing of the world, there is no wild fire of sinful wrath in grace. Bitterness, railing, jeering, persecution with the tongue, outcries against Assemblies, Presbyteries, are not the tools of the spirit of grace; yea calumnies, salt writings on either side are not from that spirit of Christ which hath a hand to wipe tears off the faces of the mourners in Zion; To all railings, all bitter mockings against Presbyteries and Assemblies, we say, we are desirous not to be driven off the road way to heaven, but to go on, Through honour and dishonour by evil report and good report, as deceivers, and yet true. One inch of a good conscience is rather to be chosen, than a thousand yards of windy credit. Meek Jesus Christ and his Apostles used not such a stile of language, nor is such Grammar from heaven, nor smelleth it of the holy Ghosts pen.  
Fourthly, if we be the children of one father, it might breed strange thoughts in our minds, when the sons of one father Independents and Presbyterians (spare me, necessity, not love of factions forceth me to these terms) shall sing one song up before the throne, to him that liveth and reigneth for ever, that we cannot gather heat and warmness of love in one ark, and in one Church here in the earth, pens and tongues salted and steeped in the gall of bitterness are not the fruits of the Spirit. Shall we kill and devour one another all the day, and lodge together in one heaven at night, and can we say one to another in heaven, hast thou sound me, O mine enemy? shall there be any factions, any sides, either religious, of Presbyterian and independent in heaven, or national of England and Scotland (which yet differ not essentially (I am sure) but only in the poor accidents of North and South) and yet on earth we must be at daggers, at rentings, divisions; are there two Christ's, because two nations?  
Fiftly, truth is never victorious by persecution; now the Scripture speaketh of a persecution with the tongue, Jer. 18. 18. Come (say they) let us smite Jeremiah with the tongue. Job thus complaineth of his friends who never put violent hands in him, Chap. 19 22. Why do you persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh? then tongue persecution is an eating of the flesh.  
Sixtly, the Gospel which we profess is a Gospel of peace, we preach war between the flesh and the spirit, and war between the woman's Seed and the Serpent. But oh! should we preach war between the Saints? we have choicer golden chains to tie us together, Ephes. 4. 4. There is one body, and one spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling. 5. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. 6. One God, and Father of all. Have we need of prelates and a high Commission Court, and pursuivants sent out to hunt us for praying together, that they may reconcile us and unite us together, as we were all one within these few years?  
Seventhly, the more grace and mercy we have from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus, the more peace amongst ourselves, and the more grace the more compassion toward the weakness of Brethren. Christ is an uniting and a congregating Saviour, his blood and his spirit soweth and needleth together the hearts of the lamb and the Leopard, of the calf and of the young Lion, Esay 11. 6.  
Eighthly, the Saints of the most High are styled the meek of the earth, Esay 11. 4. there be no meek creatures on earth but the regenerate. bulls and Lions fight together, Lions and wolves pursue lambs. But we have not heard of war between lambs and lambs; Why should we strive, for we are brethren? how unseemly that one redeemed one should hate, persecute and chase another redeemed one, even into the gates of heaven?  
Ninthly, are we not debtors one to another? and the sum we owe is love. O what a spirit of accommodation was in that chosen vessel Paul! who said, 1 Cor. 9 22. I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save same. This is Paul's charge, Gal. 6. 1, 2. who will have love to put in joint an overtaken sinner, in the spirit of meekness, and so it is, love doth not only bear itself, but also the burdens of our brethren▪ and so fulfilleth the Law of Christ; love planted by Christ is the Law of Christ, and why do we by ruptures and divisions labour to frustrate the end of Christ's prayer, which is, John 17. 2. I pray (saith Christ) that they may all be one, as thou Father art in me, and I in thee? if we be one in uno tertio, in the heart of Christ, and of Christ's Father, why but we should be one amongst ourselves? yea love is burnt in tender feeling and compassion with the very smoke of a brother's house that is on fire, 1 Cor. 13. 15. Love is not easily provoked; it is a pardoning grace, and hath strong shoulders to bear the madness and infirmities of a fellow heir of heaven. Love thinketh not evil, love must abound in love and charitable thoughts towards others, as every element aboundeth in its own sphere, it thinketh not that the Saints do hunt for a dominion over Saints. 6. Love rejoiceth not in iniquity. Cursed be that love that exulteth when malignant's prevail, and rejoiceth not when the cause of the Lord and his people are victorious. Love rejoiceth in the truth; then love is wounded and sick when heresies and sects prevail; and sigheth to see Altars multiplied, and that many false Christ's and false teachers arise. We cannot deny but God hath put his seal to the ministry of the servants of Christ that went from this to New England, and in the wisdom of God they saw and do see, that liberty of conscience is no remedy, but physic worse than the disease; against false religions; It is now off my way to dispute. But I know certainly a negative argument from the practice of Christ and the Apostles, because they stirred not up heathen Magistrates and Wolves, not fathers, to punish false teachers, is not good divinity to infer liberty of conscience; for in their practice they stirred not up the sword of the Magistrate against extortions and rapines in publicans, nor against the persecuting and killing of the Lord of Glory, nor against sedition, incests, tyranny over the Apostles and Christians, bribing and unjustice used against Paul by Felix and others who were subject to higher Magistrates, and many other scandalous sins against the second table; any might infer liberty of conversation in matters of the second table, no less than liberty of conscience in matters of the first table, if this argument hold good. But the doctrine of Christ and his Apostles giveth to the Magistrate the Sword against evil doers, Rom. 13. 4. but teachers of false doctrine though in the matter of ceremonies, are evil doers, Phil. 3. 2. and they pervert souls, Act. 15. and kill souls, and subvert whole houses, and make their followers twofold more the Children of hell, than they themselves, Matth. 23. 15. nor did we ever dream that the bloody sword was a mean of conversion of souls, the Gospel is so the only power of God to salvation, but that hindereth not but the Magistrate is to restrain by a coercive power the man that teacheth that Jesus Christ is not true God consubstantial with the Father, because the Sword ought to curb the spreading of false doctrine, it followeth not that it is a mean of propagating true doctrine. But of this more possibly in another place. Nor do I intend the bloody sword should be drawn against every different opinion holden by the truly godly, though in the government of the Church all see not with the same light.  
Luke 8. 24. Master, master, we perish.  
Mark 3. 38. Master carest thou not that we perish?  
It is too ordinary for us, 
Doct.  because of the greatness of the stroke, and no present deliverance to put unkindness upon Christ, 
we put unkindness on Christ, because we are not presently delivered, and the reasons thereof.  as here they complain that Christ is careless of them, because he sleepeth and they perish; few of the Saints have ever been in extremity of heavy afflictions, but they have uttered hard thoughts of Christ, Psal. 77. as the Prophet in name of the Church, when he was troubled and his sore ran in the night, verse. 7. saith, will the Lord cast off for ever? will he be favourable no more? 8. Is his mercy clean gone? 
{non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}  is his word or oracle rotten? 9 Hath he forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? It is a strange word, Vers. 7. will he be favourable no more? will he never put forth in action one act of good will again? for the word {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} is {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}; it were a prodigious thing as the Prophet calleth it, his infirmity, Vers. 10. that all acts of reconciliation toward the elect should dry up. 
{non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}  Jeremiah when he cried out in his great trouble, Chap. 15. Vers. 10. Woe is me, my mother, 
{non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}  that thou hast borne me a man of strife, and a man of contention to the whole earth; 
{non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}  complaineth Vers. 18. Wilt thou be altogether to me as a liar? 
Et non addet (bene) velle ultra.  as waters that are unfaithful? that is, I hoped thou shouldest have helped me, as the thirsty traveller trusteth in a dry pit, seeing it afar off, and believing it to be a refreshing fountain, but thou hast beguiled me and my hope; to this you may add the cursing of the day that he was borne in, Chap. 20. David, Psal. 31. when Vers. 12. he was forgotten as a dead man, and laid aside by all the world, as an useless, and a broken vessel, complaineth, Vers. 22. For I said in mine haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes; and we know the sufferings of Job, who beside his other agues uttereth these words, Chap. 13. Vers. 14. Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy? The Reasons are:  
First, extreme afflictions, as physic, stir up both the good and the bad humours, they make legible both the good and the ill in the man, and which of them is the predominant; when the fire boileth extremely, if there be a scum in the liquour, it is that which is first seen, yea and it is not only the virtue and strength of the fire, but also of the gold that the dross goeth to its own place, if it were all gold there should be no separation at all; the Disciples here put a false Character upon Christ, that he hath neither love to them, nor care of them, they double the word, Master, master, and that is a check, being added to the other, carest thou not for us? it saith 1. that he is worse than other masters, better serve any master than Christ, a master will care for his servants, so he can help them, no earthly master will sleep, when he knoweth his servants are drowning. 2. They object his sluggishness, carest thou not for us? he bathe neither love nor respect to us, though we have forsaken all and followed him.  
Secondly, apprehension putteth a bastard glowme upon Christ, and causeth us to take a false measure of Christ; Fancy hath strong operations, especially when it cometh in the room and place of faith. What could they imagine now but that the Sea will drown Christ? he had said to them, he must be delivered to the hands of sinners and be crucified, or then, he could walk upon the Sea and escape death, and would let them go to the mercy of the raging Seas, and perish in the waters? now this was a belying of the promises of God; Christ had both decreed and said that they behoved to be his witnesses, and to carry his name to the Gentiles, and carry the chariot of the Gospel through all the world, and be delivered up to Synagogues and counsels, and be beaten and scourged, and hated of all men for his name's sake, now all these are dreams, they must be drowned in the waters, through no other cause but the negligence and cold affection that their master Christ beareth to them, though they had preferred him and his service to all the world. We are beasts under great temptations, and fantasy is all the wit that leadeth beasts, so the Prophet saith of himself, Psal. 72. 22. so foolish was I and ignorant, I was a beast before thee; and why a beast? he had said in his heart, Vers. 11. how doth God know? that was a strong dream: he that teacheth man knowledge, shall be not know? Psal. 94. 10. and Vers. 13. verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} is an empty thing, and our word smoke or reek seemeth to come from it, than said the prophet's imagination, it is as empty a thing as smoke to serve God.  
Thirdly, sense is strong as fancy, drowning and death was come over board, and therefore they complain of a changed and sleeping Christ; now old and grey haired judgements move us not, as the drowning of the old world, the destruction of Sodom with fire and brimstone, these are gone many hundreth years, therefore they affect not us, and the day of judgement is far off, and where is the promise of his coming? say the scoffers, 2 Pet. 3. and so did the people, Ezek. 12. 27. Son of man behold they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of times that are afar off. But when death is at thy right side, and sitteth upon the ball of thy cheek, that acteth and worketh on us. When the Sword is two hundreth miles from us, we take no care of it; but if the enemy were coming in at the ports of the city, and we saw them burning houses, and killing husbands and children, and heard the crying of women and children; we should then be on the other extremity, and cry, Christ is changed and cares not for us; keep good and heavenly thoughts of Christ in the saddest times, Psal. 22. 2. O my God I cry by day and thou hearest not, in the night season I am not silent; What then? doth he fall a chiding with God? doth he say, Oh, God is changed, he careth not for us? no: yea the contrary he saith, Vers. 3. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. 4. Our fathers trusted in thee and were delivered; say in the mouth of hell, I will believe, as Job 13. 15. Though the Lord should kill me, I will trust in him; faith liveth and breatheth in the grave, in the throat of hell. How sweet is it to hear, There is the grave of a buried believer; these be the ashes of a dead man, that went into the grave in faith and hope as Christ did, Psal. 16. 10. Beware of false imaginations of God in time of trouble. Fancy can spin out and forge a God weak of memory, who hath forgotten his promises, Esay 49. 14, 15. we cast behind us the promises in the day of trouble; yea which is fearful, often when we conceive we are praying, we are but chiding with God, and not far from blaspheming; grace in the day of trouble layeth silence on the thoughts, we have need of an high Priest to wash our sacrifices, and when we have prayed, there is so much sin in our prayers that Christ must pray them over again, as it were, for he maketh prayers and requests for us, Heb. 8. 25.  
They awoke him saying, Master, master.  
Prayer awaketh a seeming sleeping God, and puts him to it, we cannot take a better course in trouble then to run to Christ by prayer, Psal. 130. 1. Out of the deeps have I cried unto thee, Psal. 18. 6. In my distress I called upon the Lord: that is a sweet story, Psal. 34. 6. This poor man cried unto the Lord, and the Lord heard and saved him out of all his troubles. 
●  David used this weapon of prayer against his own son Absolom, Psal. 3. Faith is not partial, prayer is not selfy, David prayed and prophesied his son's destruction. 7. Arise O Lord, save me; and he answers himself, Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly: A praying Army must be a victorious Army. If this storm had not risen they should not have prayed: alas! we put Christ often in the rear; or we keep Christ to a reserve or a recrute; when we have tried physicians for twelve years, and spent all, than we come to Christ, when we can do no better. There is much deceit in bed-prayers, for the principium motus, the first spring is extrinsical, it comes from the rod on us; it is true, natural consciences deadened and benumbed with rubbing do gather warm blood, and are stirred up to devotion and fasting, and praying in the spirit, and the spirit of prayer may be wakened by judgement, 
judgements of themselves are the occasion, rather than the cause of praying.  but judgement is not the cause of praying in the godly, but the occasion. He that raiseth up a sleeping man is not the cause of his motion and walking, the cause was in him, when he was fast asleep, his life and the Locomotive power is the cause of walking, and this is not put in the sleeping man by him who raiseth him: when the hypocrite and ungodly man fasteth and prayeth, the hand of an angry God is both occasion and cause of his praying; we would try what moveth us to fasting and praying.  
First, 
Some signs that sin, not afflictions put us to fasting and praying.  whether sin or afflictions, this is a good sign, if we can pray with as great intention of spirit to be delivered from the dominion of sin, as for the pardon of the guilt; we may be afraid that God hear us when we pray for deliverance from the dominion of Idol-sinnes, experience teacheth this. But we are never afraid to be heard, but afraid with the fear of unbelief, for the most part, that we be not heard, when we pray for pardon and deliverance from the guilt of sin; the reason is, men may hate the guilt of sin, and yet love the sin.  
Secondly, if affliction put us to a humiliation for sin, as sin and the depth of grief for sin putteth us to condemn ourselves without flattery and lying, the contrary of which is when in trouble we give God good words, and have within us lying hearts and think not so, as the people, Psal. 78. 34. who sought God when he slew them, Vers. 36. nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied to him with their tongues. 37. for their heart was not right within them; men do then flatter themselves, when they flatter God.  
Thirdly, when we are more anxious in our fasting for Zion, and the taking of the ark of God, then for ourselves, our laws, goods, houses, lives and liberties; when David made the 25. Psalm the troubles of his heart were enlarged, but this was one of his great suits when he had cause to mind himself, 22. redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.  
Fourthly, when the circumcised heart is humbled, and the people shall not faint and expire through want of faith, by which the just liveth. 2. When they shall not so murmur and wrestle against the rod as a wild Bull taken and lying in a net, which having lost strength and feet, and being overcome, yet kicketh against the hunter. 3. When they shall not be surfeited with affliction, so as to loathe and despise the rod, as the tender stomach loatheth physic, because they are full and surfeited with the fury of the Lord. These three are excellently expressed, Esay 51. 20. Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets (for in the meetings of ways the wild bull is catched in the net) as a wild bull in a net; they are full of the fury of the Lord, and the rebuke of thy God: it is a bad token to faint; 2. to wrestle, 3. to be so drunk with God's judgements and rebukes, as against reason, to cry out against God and his Prophets in trouble, as these who are drunken and afflicted, but not with wine, Vers. 21. but with the rod and rebukes; and cry, it was better with us in Egypt, und●r the Prelates, and their brick and clay and toiling, under ceremonies, official Courts, tyranny of conscience, and now we are wast●d and destroyed and killed; and 4. when the people shall as it were, with pleasure and good will (for so the word Levit. 26. 41. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} signifieth) accept of the punishment of their iniquity, a kindly and willing satisfaction of heart in the rod of God in so far, as it calmeth and pacifieth (in a manner) evangelic justice, so that the Lord is eased and comforted toward his people, when he hath punished them, and they are eased and comforted in the declaration of the glory of his justice, and with good will do justify God in his afflicting them, as Lament. 3. 41, 42. Micah. 7. 9 Esa. 39 8. this willing accepting of the rod, (I say) is a speaking sign that the rod of God is sanctified.  
Mark 4. 39 Then he arose, and as Matth. 8. 26. he saith to them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Matthew keepeth the most natural order; for Christ first rebuked the Disciples unbelief, before he rebuked the Sea and the winds, we have reason so to conceive of Christ's method, for he requireth faith before he work miracles, at least often he doth so, though he confirm and strengthen that faith by miracles. 
How the rod of God must work us to humiliation, ere we be delivered.  It is fit that Christ rebuke us ere he deliver us from drowning. He first rebuketh the noble man and all his nation for unbelief, and then healeth his son, John 4. 48, 49, 50. He first chideth Martha out of her unbelief, and then raiseth her brother Lazarus from death, John 11. 40. 43, 44. and Matth. 17. 17. He rebuketh the father of the lunatic child, and the faithlessness of the perverse generation, before he cast out the devil; it is fit we be both convinced and humbled, before he turn away his angry hand. First, the cross is a mystery to us and a dumb teacher, we understand not the language and the grammar of the rod, the man of wisdom knows it, Mic. 6. 9 Vengeance is written on the wall before Belshazzer; but it is in unknown language, he doth not understand it. Secondly, green and raw deliverances are plagues of God, not mercies; the plague is nine times removed, but Pharaoh's heart is neither softened nor humbled, the scum abideth in the bloody city, as the Lord complaineth, Ezek. 24. 6. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out; the Prophet in Chaldea heard that Jerusalem had been boiled with the sword of the Lord, but the scum of their Idolatry and blood remained in them; whilst the wicked of these kingdoms, malignants, bloody Irish, rotten hearted men, such backsliders and perjured Apostates, as are in Scotland, delivered to Satan and excommunicated, while these taste of the Gall and wormwood of the wrath of God in this war, the hand of God cannot be removed, and therefore that must be taken notice of, Jer. 6. 29. The bellows are burnt, the lead is consumed of the fire, the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away; O that our Lord would boil out on the fire the scum of both kingdoms. The whoredoms of Popish Egypt, and the ceremonies, the inventions of men are not mourned for by the pastors of the Lord, sure, I am, not by most of the Ministers in Scotland: What can we say for our confidence in our Armies, our multitude, Parliaments, Navies, our extortion, oppression, unjustice, hollow-heartedness in the cause of God, our lying, cozening, budding and bribing, our breach of our Covenant, denying of justice to the oppressed, to the widow, strangers, and Orphans, to the poor and needy, the abominable and daring opinions of God, his son Christ, his Church, his Sacraments and free grace and sanctification and holiness in this land? Thirdly, judgements on a land or a person are the cup of the Lord's fury: now often it is the grounds and thick of the cup, which is the substance and virtue of the cup, and must work the cure. And possibly to sip at the brim will not do it, it is a judgement that some get not leave to heat in the furnace, but are dipped in in the flood, and are never at leisure to commune with their own heart, nor hath the Lord time to allure them in the wilderness, Hos. 2. 14. as Ephraim was in the Oven as a Cake unturned: poor Germany hath not been slenderly dipped in, and presently out again, they have now been in the floods, and under the water these 26. years, these kingdoms are yet green, not ripened, for the mercy of deliverance, ourscumme remaineth in us; divisions amongst us say, it is not yet time for our triumph, The fields are not while already to harvest; when all godliness is to dispute out new ways to heaven, and not seek after the power of godliness; it is good we see the far end of the judgement, and that we be heart-humbled and tamed, and made weaned children, that we put our mouth in the dust, and sit alone on the ground, and keep silence, and be filled with reproach, and bear the yoke, Lament. 3. 28, 29, 30. and resolve to bear the indignation of the Lord, because we have sinned, Mic. 7. 9 and it is good we be threshed while we be so broken as we may remember, and be confounded, and never open our mouth any more, because of our shame, when the Lord is pacified toward us, for all that we have done, Ezek. 16. 63.  
Mark 4. 40. Why are you so fearful? Luke 8. 25. Where is your faith?  
The ground of their doubting and unbelief is excessive and immoderate fear, not simply fear, therefore mark saith, {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, why are you so fearful? he saith not; why fear you? hence the Text will lead us to inquire in the bad properties of this fear; which that we may do, a little of the affections in general; 2. of this bad fear condemned by our Lord in these following propositions.  
1 Proposition. 
Grace doth not extirpate, but regulate fear and other affections.  Grace removeth not affections; Christ condemneth not their fear, but only their fearfulness {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} so high bended. Grace maketh not men Stoics, nor does it root out Nature: Nature of itself, as it cometh out of the workhouse of the Creator, is an innocent thing. Whatever decrees the high former, and Potter have concerning all things, in the exercise of his absolute, but most pure and holy sovereignty over lame Vessels, yet all that he made is good; he is the author of no sinfulness in the Creature. But he doth not extirpate the nature, and harmless being of natural affections: A chirurgeon taketh not away life and sense, but only rottenness and corrupt humours, that are enemies to life and sense. Grace embroidereth sinless nature, but does not turn it out at doors: Give your lust to Christ who maketh all things new; and he shall restore it again to you in renewed love: Put your fainting in his hand, and he'll make it holy fear: Christ's furnace melteth but out the refuse and dross of our affections. What fire was in Peter a Fisher is but made holy zeal in Peter the Apostle; no man is the worse that he come through the new physicians hands; he maketh brass Gold: I should wish no better, but that Christ would barter an old heart with a new; for Christ has skill to over-gold nature with Grace. Grace turned not Job in a lump of iron, that he could not weep or sorrow; for it was not destructive of Grace which he saith, Job 16. 16. My face is foul with weeping: The Man Christ that chosen flower, and the rarest pearl of sinless nature both wept, Job. 11. 35. Luke 19 42. and was feared, Luke 22. 44. Heb. 5. 7.  
2 Propos. Grace but removeth the scum, and exorbitances of our affections: As first, Grace is a regular thing, and moves as the stars do, in a motion, contrary to the motion of the whole World; it moveth not as nature doth, to seek its own being and life, but with subordination to God. Be angry, but sin not, holdeth in all; fear, but sin not; Love the Creature, but sin not; Trust holy men, but sin not; Sorrow at calamities, but sin not. Grace is a straight line that measureth both itself, and all crooked lines. And therefore the Grace of God, the Gospel is a teaching guide, Tit. 2. 11. The grace of God, 12. teacheth us to deny ungodliness.  
Secondly, grace is an excellent screen between the soul and the burning heat of affections, it is a strong bank to keep off overswelling tides of lusts in the soul; when affections start up without leave of the grace of God, than a man according to God's heart David will but utterly destroy Nabal and all he hath, the Disciples, because they cannot have a nights lodiging, will do no less than burn Cities and towns, & have Samaria destroyed as Sodom, as if Christ were come in the world to raise fire and sword against men, women and sucking infants, but when affections look toward the creatures, the grace of God sets them on to move on leisurely and upon slow wheels, and loppeth off from our affections all the wanton and luxuriant branches, that is a sweet fruit of the grace of God, 1 Cor. 7. 29. But this I say, Brethren, the time is short, it remaineth that both they that have wives, be as though they had none. 30. And they that weep, as though they wept not, and they that rejoice as though they rejoiced not, and they that buy as though they possessed not; and mortification laugheth at mirth and laughter, as Solomon in his repenting days doth, Eccles. 2. 2. I said of laughter, it is mad, and of mirth, what doth it?  
3. Proposition. There be diverse diseases in the fear of the Disciples; as first, their fear is more then enough, they speak as if the Sea could drown Christ and them both, 
The faults of the Disciples fear.  ere the man Christ awake. Hence their precipitations, Master, master, and their complaint, carest thou not for us? our affections in great dangers run with the head foremost, not only before the light of faith, but before that reason command them to rise; according to the measure of unmortified lusts so is the swelling of our affections; grace keeping them within banks, else they are as some great Seas that have great tides. Secondly, there is much unbelief in this fear; and therefore as Matthew relates the story, Christ said to them, why are ye fearful O ye of little faith? and as Mark saith, 4. 40. How is it that you have no faith? and Luke saith, where is your faith? that is, they had little or no great strength of faith, with this fear, it being mixed with much doubting; hence as Christ denyeth not simply that they had no faith, so he condemneth their unbelief, unbelief doth not a little dull our apprehension, so that death and afflictions look on us with a more ugly and awsome countenance, the more of the sun be covered in an eclipse, the greater is the darkness: unbelief is a dark black webbecast over our eyes, that we see not what omnipotency can do, and how it secondeth the faithfulness of God, to make good his own promises, our corrupt affections arising in their strength are great enemies to righteous judging. Hence thirdly, this fear doth make them to misfather their affliction, they lay the blame of their danger on Christ's sleeping, and his forgetfulness and carelessness of them, as their complaint showeth: Carest thou nor for us? we perish, and thou sleepest; in this, if in any thing, it is true; happy is he who knoweth the causes of things, we are often smitten of God in the dark. To apply these to ourselves. It is much to know the causes of this present war in the rwo kingdoms, some say it is because liberty is not given to every man to live in what Religion he pleaseth, but this is a sin that every man do, 
It were good to inquire the causes of the judgement.  What seemeth good in his own eyes, because there is not a judge to put any to shame, Judg. 18. Chap. 19 1, 2. the contrary than cannot be the cause of the so great judgement. Others say rebellion against the King is the cause, but rather the not timous rising to help the Lord, and his oppressed people against the mighty is the cause. The defection of both kingdoms to altar worship, imagery, idolatry, Popish and Arminian Doctrine, the articles of Perth Assembly followed and practised in our own kingdom without repentance, the ignorance of God, people perishing for want of knowledge, both under prelacy, and now the not building of the house of God in this land, the backsliding of many after the Covenant of God is sworn, are the true causes, and it is to be feared that if presbyterial government be erected in this land (as we hope it shall) if this be not taken heed to, it shall continue a judgement on the Land, and it is this, many both preachers and professors shall conform to the Government (as they would do to either the prelatical, or congregational way as many time-servers do) and shall hate and persecute the power of godliness under the pretence of Sectaries, Brownists, Separatists, independents, and the like, and retaining an Antichristian and rotten heart shall do what in them lies, under that colour to vex, oppress and banish many godly men out of the land. But this is to be considered, if it were not needful there were a Fast through both kingdoms to deal with God to find out the true causes of our fastings, and these heavy judgements in which in the three kingdoms many hundreth thousands are killed. I doubt if under any Prince or Emperor there be a history can parallel the blood shed within these few years; Job when God visited him desired to know wherefore God contended with him: it is a sad thing to lie drowned under unknown and fatherless plagues, we being ignorant of the causes of God's judgement; so we suffer blind crosses like the ox that bears the yoke and knoweth nothing of the art of husbandry, or the horse killed in the battle, and yet is ignorant of state-affairs, and of the causes of war, and of disorders in laws, Liberties, Religion in State and Church, we are like one smitten in the dark night by a spirit or a ghost, but he seeth not who striketh. Oh it were good we would inquire, as the Prophet doth, Esa. 42. 24. who gave Jacob for a spoil; and Israel to robbery? and wherefore is all this come on us? why doth the Lord contend with us? O make us know our iniquities.  
Often the rod maketh a lying report of God, 
use 2.  and accuseth Christ in our desertions. O! Christ is unkind, he is changed, he hath forsaken me; we can sooner spy a fault in Christ under desertion then in ourselves, and we often reason from that which is no cause for the cause. Christ seemeth changed to us, and unmerciful and sleepey and careless. First, when the judgement is extreme and we apprehend it as a fruit of the anger and vengeance of God. 
The causes of misapprehending of Christ.  Apprehension gives life to afflictions and casteth in many ounce weights of wrath in our cup, which was never there, because our conscience giveth in against us lying libels and unjust complaints, such as this, (thou art not in Christ) nor a convert, nor a pardoned and justified sinner;) and we first retort the lying libel upon Christ▪ O! Christ hath forgotten to be merciful, we see Christ in the false glass, in our extreme suffering, our sin and apprehension joining together. Secondly, Christ may sleep and hide himself in a great trial, and when he is gone, and grace hath no actual influence on our souls, than we languish and die; the passes of the Clock being laid by, there is no motion at all, and the wheels gather rust. Should we suppose that the Creator of nature did suspend his influence, all natural operations should cease, there should be no motion in the sun, it should neither rise nor go down, the rain should not fall, the wind should not blow, living things could not move, Beasts could not walk, Fowels could not fly, Fishes could not swim, Roses, Flowers, and herbs could not grow, &c. because he causeth all these to be, and his immediate influence addeth oil to all wheels, and rolleth and moveth them, else they could not stir; so Christ in the sphere of grace being the first mover, if his influence stand still, all our wheels as wanting oil and motion gather rust and stand still; Paul cannot call Jesus Lord, the Spouse runneth not, for the bridegroom will not draw, Can. 1. David dieth and withereth a hundreth deaths; for God hides his face. Hezekiah fainteth, for God glowmeth, Haman is down amongst the dead, in the grave, Christ his life worketh not, so here in trouble Christ standeth behind the mount, and the poor Disciples faint and die, and dream, and are all afraid in a storm, because God seemeth to sleep, as if God were dead: Oxthodoxe and sound apprhensions of Christ in us are not habits, but acts, and are in us as lightnings are in the air, when nature actually cooperateth, or as fire is in the flint, not but when it is beaten out with force. Thirdly, distempers and fevers on faith take away the taste and the honey out of Christ, the father is not a father to the child in a fit of an ague.  
Thirdly, when extreme danger is near and the Army foiled, and the enemy entering in at the ports, our courage is as far to seek as ever was the courage of the Apostles. Oh than we are gone, this is our death, the cause is now loosed, Christ is buried, he cannot rise again, Esay 7. 2. It was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim, and his heart was moved, as the trees of the field: the word {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} is to be moved from place to place, and is ascribed to Cain the vagabond, Gen. 4. 12. we fear the creature too much, because he can kill the body, and we fear the Lord of heaven and earth to little, though he have dominion over both soul and body, remember what a forgetting of God it is to fear the creature in God's cause, Esay 51. 12. Ay, even I am he that comforteth you, who art thou that shalt be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man that shall be made as grass? is it so great a sin to fear man? ay, the next words bear no less. 13. and forgettest the Lord thy maker that stretched out the heaven, and laid the foundation of the earth; an unbelieving people hath a fear of their own, which the people of God are not to follow, Esay 8. 12. Fear ye not the fear of this people, neither be afraid. 13. Sanctify the Lord of hosts, let him be your fear.  
Matth. 8. 26. Then he saith unto them, why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Luke 8. 25. where is your fatth?  
That which Christ first seeketh, and first misseth in any is their faith. Where is your faith? by comparing the Evangelists together a little faith is faith, and it is no faith, that is, not so great a faith as is required in a great storm. Hence these conclusions concerning a little faith.  
1. Conclus. 
What is a small or weak faith.  A little faith in regard of the nature of faith is faith; as Christ, Matth. 8. saith not, they have no faith; but he childeth them for their little faith; as the least of fire is fire, as well as a fire of all the timber and fuel of the earth is fire, and the fourth part of a drop of dew is water, no less than the whole element of water is water; the least measure of saving faith is saving faith; and there be other three acts of free grace that are of the same nature. As first, God's free love of election to glory can neither be half nor divided; the meanest of the elect is no less a chosen Senator enrolled in the book of life than Abraham, or great Moses. Secondly, all the Saints are equally ransomed and equally married on Christ, there was no greater ransom of Christ's blood given for Job, David, the Apostles then for thee, O thou the least of Saints. Thirdly, all are equally saved and crowned Kings; of the degrees of grace and glory, I do not now speak.  
2. Conclus. Faith and fainting may consist together at one and the same time, as night and day are one in the twilight, so the poor man said, 
Faith and fainting may consist together in one  Mark 9 24. I believe, that is faith, Lord help my unbelief, that is fainting; and David, Psal. 31. 22. I I said in my haste, I am cut off from before mine eyes; here is much fainting. nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplication; here must be much faith, when his prayers hath been heard: So Jonah Chap. 4. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight, this was base fainting; yet I will look toward thy holy Temple, this is faith, and Jeremiah, ch. 20. 7. O Lord thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived, thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed, I am in derision daily, and every one mocketh me. he fainted not a little, when he spoke so of God to God; but Vers. 11. he getteth up the mount again; But the Lord is with me as a mighty terrible one, therefore my persecutors shall stumble, they shall not prevail. A wrestling faith opposing doubtings and faintings is an argument of a vigorous life of Christ, and weakness here is an argument of strength and deadness doth argue life, and fainting believing; we have a bad opinion of our own state when there is no cause, and the reason is, that it is a reflect act to know our own acts of faith; 
Reasons why we know our grace so hardly.  and first, reflect acts are more rare and difficile, because more spiritual than direct acts. Secondly, the light of saving grace must concur in all our reflect acts, but it seemeth to me to be easier, because more natural to reflect upon our doubting and unbelief, then upon our believing, especially where there is any tenderness of conscience, as a sleeping man knoweth not that he is in health, nor can he have any sense of his health while he sleepeth, and yet a sleeping man may know and feel the pain of sickness, and of an aching bone, and thereby be wakened to feel it more sensibly, though I know there be a necessity of the influence of saving grace, either to know our fainting, or our faith in a spiritual manner, yet there be degrees of grace here.  
3 Conclus. Those who have a great faith in habit, many have a little faith in act, and the Disciples who had forsaken all and followed Christ, must have a great measure of faith of fiducial adherence; it is a great faith to renounce all our bosome-lovers for Christ: Though 2. their faith of light, or in regard of knowledge was weak; they not knowing Christ's death and resurrection, which are principal Articles of faith, Matth. 16. 21, 22, 23. Joh. 20 9 Yet in this present act their faith was weak. The grounds of a weak faith in regard of the act, and some special exigents of a prevailing temptation: are first, because faith is one thing, 
The grounds of a faith weak in action.  and the use of faith another thing: The habit of faith is not the complete and only cause of believing. 1. Because then the regenerate from the first moment of their regeneration to their dying day, should always believe, which is repugnant to Scripture and all experience; for the habit of faith, and the seed of God always remaineth in them, even when they sin, they lose not that, Joh. 3. 9 1 Ioh. 2. 27, 28, 29. Ioh. 4. 14. Ier. 32. 40, 41. Esay 59 21. 2. We are not Lords, having by freewill a dominion over the habit of faith, to stir it up into acts when we please; for then, these that have the habit need not to pray for the actual influence of the grace of God, to work in them to will and to do, against many Scriptures, as Cant. 1. 4. Psal. 25. 5. Psal. 86. 11. Psal. 119. 18, 36, 37. 66. 68 80. 3. Our freewill, at its best, is but grace's armour-bearer, and servant. Grace whether habitual or actual, is God's Prerogative royal, and one of the supreme and absolute flowers of his crown. And therefore we are Masters of our own sins; we can be willingly wicked, and fall when we will, we are not masters of our own rising again; we can faint when we will, but we believe when Christ will, and when his saving grace breathes on us, and neither sooner nor later, neither more strongly, nor more remissely, than the freegrace of God, enableth us: for if we could believe ere grace blow on us; First, we could prevene grace, and then should we carry it all before us; and it should be after this, not prevening grace, but prevening nature, prevening free will. Secondly, if the intention of the degrees of actual believing were in our power, Paul did not well to ascribe his labouring more abundantly to the grace of God, and not to himself, 1 Cor. 15. 10. But I laboured more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 
Faith and sense compared together. Simile.  Secondly, our faith is often led by the sense of appearance and second causes, and that is a very bad rule. Faith and sense may thus be compared: Faith is like the just horologue or watch which showeth to us justly the hours at midnight, when there be neither Sun, moon, nor Stars to give notice what time of night it is; so rotten boily Job, chap. 19 25, 26. when he had not so much as starlight of appearance to lead him, but death and rotten boils, could in faith point the hour, and say, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that I shall see him for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reins be consumed within me: But sense is not like the night horologue, but like the sun-dial, that cannot point the hours in the night, nay, nor yet in daylight if the same be under cloud, sense must have daylight, and a shining Sun; and can do nothing for Christ upon trust: and this is a great unthankfulness in our sense; for it is faith and not sense that layeth hold on relations, and such a relation as is between husband and wife, so the Lord speaketh, Esa. 54. 4. Fear not, that is, believe; upon what ground? Upon the ground of marriage-faith. Ver. 5. for thy maker is thy husband. so is faith expressed by a marriage word, we are freed from the Law, Rom. 7. 4. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} that ye should be for another husband, that ye should be married on another lover.  
4 Conclus. Sometimes we believe on Christ as moral agents, and then we may both know Christ and our own state, if the light of the Spirit concur to make the promises visible to our spiritual senses: not only as true, but also as good and sweet, for we see colours, and apprehend them both as colours, and as pleasant and delectable: so a man may see a great heap of Gold which belongeth to another man, he sees it as of such a colour, and as it offereth itself to the eye; but because it is not his own, nor hath he any hope it can be his own; he seeth it possibly with grief: but if it were offered and given to him, he should then see it as good and acceptable: now the grounds of a weak faith, is a weak evidence of our interest in Christ; small and weak evidence produceth weak acts of believing: it is true there is sometime little evidence of knowledge, where there is strong adherence, and strong faith, as many unlettered Martyrs of no great knowledge in the Scriptures, have died with great adherence and strength of faith: but there is a twofold evidence, one literal, another spiritual, it is unpossible there can be a strong faith, but there must be a strong spiritual evidence proportionable thereunto to convey it, for faith walketh not without eyes, and therefore the weakness of spiritual evidence of our interest in Christ (as here the Apostles see not but Christ hath forgotten them, and cares not that they perish) must produce a weak faith. Again faith cometh not only from discourse, and the moral persuasion of the holy Ghost making use of sanctified reason, 
Faith from instinct of grace sometime rather than from light of discourse.  but also sometime from a mere spiritual instinct, as where there is no discourse, especially when we first believe, and have nothing but a mere command, and knows not whether the promise and the Saviour belongeth to us or not, even as the infant that can make no use of discourse relieth and trusteth to the mother or nurse for milk, by mere instinct, having neither promise nor experience for it, and the young Chickens confide in the covering of the hen's wings, and the lambs for food from the dam merely by natural instinct: so when we are new borne again, the first act of fiducial adherence seemeth to be from the new nature and instinct of grace, as the child in a sudden danger without discourse or promise that his father will help him, runs to his father, and the coneys in danger to their holes of the rock, and so a weak instinct of grace may produce weak acts, and by the way the promise may be forgotten and out of mind, and the assurance that Christ loved me before the world was, none at all, and a believer yet may rely and confide in Christ through instinct, and know no ground, as through some secret sympathy of nature one may love another and they know not the reason, and proportionally may trust in another also, for love produceth some confidence, so some are kind and their heart warmed with Christ; and they do not well know Christ, as the Disciples going to Emmaus have hearts burning with the love of God, but they knew not it was Christ who was there, the third man conferring with them.  
5. Conclus. 
The special cause of all sins of infirmity.  The chief cause, as of all sins of infirmity, so of a weak and infirm faith, is not so much from want of will as want of power, and rather from want of grace and a larger measure of the spirit of faith, than from malice and wickedness. I deny not but the corruption of a wicked nature hath influence in sins of infirmity, and in a weak faith, as it hath in all sins (as some of the mother's seed must always be in the child;) but I speak comparatively, and in regard of that which is the nature of sin; therefore sins of infirmity and a weak faith, though they be not venial sins, as Papists vainly teach, yet they be sins of a lower size; for there be less activeness and more passiveness in these sins, and so less will and more renitency and reluctancy then in reigning sins, and all sins of infirmity have but the half of the will, sometime nothing but a virtual consent, as in the first motions of concupiscence and some sinful errors and bad opinions contrary to the truth which the children of God have, and the renewed part doth protest on the contrary against the flesh and side with Christ; and if the will join in sins of infirmity, it is but the one half of the will trailing the other half after it, like the motion of a worm in which the former part having more life and vigour draweth after it the hinder part. But I come to prove the nature of a weak● or little faith, and of other sins of infirmity: Paul, Rom. 7. 14. saith of himself, I am carnal sold under sin, he useth the passive verb {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, that which is put to the market to be made away for money, were it man or woman, is a patient, But Ahab had another mark, Elias said to him, 1 King. 20. ●0. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} thou hast sold thyself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, he that is sold is not sui juris, not his own man, the flesh in that act prevaileth over him, the renewed will saying the contrary. The acting of ●…d unbelief in a Saint is like a business in a court hardly 〈◊〉 hotly debated, and the matter is carried by one voice only, or as in weighing of things in a balance one scruple may cast the seal, and where there is but one grain of saving grace, the work may be swayed by it, if the flesh act by prevalency, it goes wrong, but in the wicked, where there is no prevalency of saving grace, nor any such principle, the sin is not a sin of infirmity. Christ hath not one voice in the court, if reason speak against some crying sins, that is something of God the Creator, but nothing of Christ, it is not from a saving principle, or the right end the honour of God, and so it is not a voice in the court for Christ, but for nature and carnal ends. Paul hath another word, Rom. 7. 23. I find another Law in my mind, {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, leading me captive to the Law of sin; the word signifieth one taken with the point of a spear, or Sword, or with a bloody weapon, so is the word, 
From {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, cuspis, mucio, and {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, captivus, or {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, cuspis hastae.  Luke 21. 24. They shall fall by the edge of the Sword, {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, and shall be led captive unto all nations, Rom. 16. 17. Salute Andronicus and Junia my kinsmen, {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} and fellow prisoners. Now in a taken captive there be two things expressing the nature of infirmities, and so of a weak faith in the Saints. First, ere the captive be taken in war he resisteth, and sheddeth blood, and therefore by paction they promise him quarters. Secondly, it is major vis, a greater power that doth it, so it is against his will that he is taken, and only for want of strength and power to fight he is taken; so he that falls of infirmity or sins of weakness, if he had more strength of grace, he would not yield, and therefore he resisteth and accepteth not of quarters from the flesh without stroke of Sword, and the spirit doth not consent to the ill he doth, as it is, Rom. 7. 15. For that which I do, I allow not, for what I would, that I do not: but what I hate that I do: So the believer is like a sick man walking up a mount, his will and desire is quicker in climbing up to be at the top of the mount, than his legs are. The last practical indictment of conscience that leadeth on in these sins of infirmity is broken, shaken, divided, it is not a kindly consent the captive giveth to obey his keepers, and therefore there is complaynings under these sins, as Paul doth, Rom. 7. 24. O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Hence the poor man is so gravelled with a body of sin, that his confined desires take strength from the strong walls of the prison, that he would gladly be in heaven, where he shall sin no more, as the Bird would wish the Cage of clay broken that it might flee up and sing; Esay useth another word, 
{non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}  Ch. 22. Christ shall not break a Reed that groweth in a lake, or an oat Reed that is already bruised, the word is half-breaking, as Gen. 25. 22. The twins struggle or shalter one another in the womb, but they killed not one another; and the smoking flax is a-dying out candle in the socket, except more oil be added to it, it is gone, the word {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} signifies the dim eyes of old men, Gen. 27. 4. Job 17. 7. so the weak believer and the fainting faith may from this easily be known.  
Then if Christ miss faith in a professor; 
use 1.  first, labour to believe, especially in a storm; now the Sea rages, the storm is tempestuous, God hath not as yet awaked in the three kingdoms for our deliverance, believe, faith cannot strike sail to hell or death, Rom. 8. 37. faith can make a passage between hell and heaven; for out of the belly of Hell Jonah cried; this should put our enemies to flight, it did so of old, Heb. 11. 34. and grace is not weak, and old, and grey haired now; there are bones and strength in faith now to subdue malignants, as of old; these that seek for crooked ways of an unjust peace without truth, do not trust God in these storms; we are in public calamities so far from faith that we think God hath forgotten us, as the people in their calamity said, Ezek. 33. 10. If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? we look to the waters that floweth over the soul and cannot see the bottom, and our hope sinketh, but faith would outface all our storms, and carry ship-broken men to laud. It was unbelief rather than Sea and winds that was like to drown the Church, for it puts weakness and sleepiness upon Christ, and robs him of the glory of his truth. Glory is the prime flower of the crown and royal Prerogative of Christ, and it changeth Christ in a sleeping man, there must be then more high treason here against the royal honour of Christ then in all sins, it is from unbelief that that complaint is made, Jer. 14. 8. Why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night? 9 Why shouldest thou be as a man astonished, as a mighty man that cannot save? the Church had as good said, why should you be turned in no God, for he that cannot save is no God; so unbelief usurpeth the crown and dethroaneth God.  
Secondly, 
use 2.  so long as we are not humbled for sin, and turn not from our evil ways, Christ justly misseth faith in us, and saith, he can see no faith in the land, and God will change his dispensation toward his Church, and do what he hath not done before, if he deliver us, ere we turn to him. But God cannot take his vessel out of the fire till he have purged away the tin and the dross: Will he cast the rod in the fire till he have done his work in mount Zion? God principally aimeth that this shall be the end of his fire in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem, which he saith, Ezek. 7. 16. But they that escape of them shall escape, or, shall be saved, and they shall be upon the mountains as Doves in the valleys, all of them mourning every one for his iniquity: could we return, and build the house of the Lord, our enemies in the three kingdoms should fall and our peace should be as a river, and our righteousness as the waves of the Sea, Esay 48. 18. we may have peace without turning to God, but it should not be peace like a mighty river, but like a dried up brook, but so scarce that it should dry up as the dew.  
Thirdly, 
use 3.  challenge not Christ of unkindness through unbelief in sad times, faith thinketh no evil of Christ; blame thyself and thy unbelief, if Christ hide his face; faith hath eyes to see Christ in the night as in daylight, faiths eyes pierce through Christ's mark, and the veil or cloud that covers his face, there is mercy and love in the bottom of afflictions.  
Fourthly, 
use 4.  weak ones are neither to undervalue Christ in themselves, nor should others undervalue them; faith maketh not heart-separation from faith, the estrangement of affection from any in whom there is any thing of Christ is from the flesh, contrary to faith,  
Mark 4. 39 And he arose and rebuked the wind, and said unto the Sea, Peace, peace, be still.  
The Sea is not capable of rebukes such as are given to reasonable creatures, 
How God really rebuketh the creature.  but there is a rebuking of omnipotency, that is not verbal but real; {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} is with words hardly to rebuke; in conjugation kal cum {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} it is to destroy, Mal. 2. 3. Behold I will destroy your seed, Esay 54. 9 I have sworn I will not be angry with thee, neither rebuke thee. 2. It is to hinder the enemies in their ill courses, Zach. 3. 2. The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan, Mal. 3. 11. I will rebuke the devourer for your sake, Psal. 68 30. Lord rebuke the company of the spearmen: and when it is applied to creatures void of reason, it is by omnipotency to hinder them to hurt us, and to stay their actions, Psal. 106. 9 He rebuked the red Sea also, Luke 4. 39 Jesus rebuked the seaver; it holdeth forth the acts of omnipotency in Christ, such as is his act of creating of an immediate fair sweet calm out of a contrary, out of a boisterous and stormy Sea. God hath some pieces in which is stamped so much of a legible and evident omnipotency, as the work fathereth itself upon God only without a teacher, 
God's omnipotency in creating and ruling the earth and Sea.  so Job 26. 7. he stretcheth out the North over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing; the earth is the weightiest of any visible creature God hath made, it needeth some solid resting place; but the omnipotency of the Creator doth hang it upon nothing, except only the air round about it, now the air being so weak, so yielding an Element, it were unpossible that the heavy and ponderous earth should have been seated on the empty and fluid air to rest in it these five thousand years, except omnipotency had done it, for the air of itself is very nothing to hold up the globe of the earth, Job 38. 5. Who hath laid the measures of the earth, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 6. Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof? there be three great questions here, that few can answer but God. First, to take the compass of the circumference of the globe of the earth exactly, and to lay a measuring line over the Diameter and the whole body of it, is a great work. Secondly, to know how to fasten the corner stone of the world. Thirdly, and how the whole weight is sustained, is more than we can tell, and it is no less wonder, Psal. 104. 2. who stretcheth out the heaven as a curtain. What a power must it be, to spread over all nations of the earth, the elements and creatures in Sea and land, such a large white molten web of crystal glass, that hath been spread over our head, from the east end of the world to the west, and north and south, and there is not an hole in the web, these five thousand years. (2) The Sea is a fluid huge great body, where can there be a bottle to contain it? 2. When it swelleth and rageth with mighty winds, how is it kept from drowning the world? God doth remedy these two. 1. Job 38. 8. Who shut up the Sea with doors, when it broke forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? Vers. 11. The Lord said, Hitherto shalt thou come, and no farther, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed. God hath put an Iron door upon the Sea, and put it under an Act and Law of omnipotency, that it shall not devour and overwhelm the earth, Jer. 5. 22. he hath placed the sand for the bound of the Sea, by a perpetual decree. For the second, when, Psal. 107. 27. the Sea is all in fire, and the passengers in a mighty storm reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end, 29. he maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Esay 50. 2. Behold, at my rebuke, I dry up the Sea. Psal. 65. 7. he stilleth the noise of the Seas. (3.) The Seas, as all the rest of the creatures, are by the first sin of man, broken out of the covenant of peace, between us and them in the state of innocency, and war is denounced between us and them, the fire should burn us, the water hath Law to drown us, the air to suffocate us, the earth a Commission to swallow us up quick, if Christ had not made a cessation of arms, and if the gospel were not a concluded treaty of peace, and if the Lord should not rebuke the fury of the creature, (for some sparks of God's wrath yet resideth in the creature) they have yet an inclination to revenge the quarrel of the treason that we committed against their King, and we do receive the creatures as fugitive soldiers from God's camp of justice, and do employ them in war against God, as the Glutton and Drunkard employeth meat and drink against God, the vain persons their vain apparel, their patched faces, bare breasts and shoulders, as an exchange to sell the body to lust; if the Lord should not rebuke our servants the creatures, water, fire, sword and the like, they would destroy us.  
If we look spiritually now upon God's dealing to these kingdoms, 
use  the sword hath a charge from God to come against these lands, Ezek. 21. 14. Therefore, son of man, prophecy and smite thine hands together, and let the Sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain, it is the sword of the great men that are slain, 
This sword in Britain not the sword of men, but of the Lord.  which entreth into their privy Chambers: when God giveth the sword a commission to destroy, it cannot rest, Jeremiah Chap. 47. Vers. 6. O thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest and be still. 7. How can it be quiet seeing the Lord hath given it a charge against. Askelon and the Sea shore? there hath be appointed it: it is then a commanded and a sent sword that now rageth in these kingdoms. 2. Not only is the Sword and the pestilence sent of God by special commission, Jer. 24. 10. but it is his sword, it is not the sword of Papists and malignants, but the sword of the Lord, Jer. 47. 6. The Lord saith, Ezek. 14. 21. that the Sword, famine, noisome beasts and pestilence are his four sore judgements: we may go through these soldiers, we have the Lord's passport, Esay 43. 2. for the sword is our father's sword. The Seas we are in, are our father's Seas, and so cannot drown us. 3. Omnipotency taketh this as peculiar to himself, he only can create peace, Psal. 46. 9 He maketh wars to cease from the ends of the earth, Esay 45. 6. I am the Lord, and there is none else. 7. I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil: then by what title he is God and Creator by the same, 
It is proper only to omnipotency to make peace.  he maketh peace, Psal. 65. 7. He stilleth the noise of the Seas, the noise of their waves and the tumult of people; these be two troublesome creatures, the raging Sea, and the people up in wars; The will of furious men is an unruly and wild thing, there is a strong tide and mighty and lofty winds stirring in men's hearts, when they are in a fever and heat of war; it is Omnipotencies proper work to calm the winds, and put the wheels to a stand, that peace may be in our borders. 4. He hath promised as he is Creator deliverance, Esay 65. 18. But be you glad, and rejoice for ever, in that which I create, for behold I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy, it is the word used Gen. 1. 1. when it is said, God created the heaven and the earth, 5. He hath said he will rebuke Kings for his church's sake, Psal. 105. 14. and Esay 50. 9 of Christ's enemies. They all shall wax old as a garment, the moth shall eat them up, Esay 49. 26. And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh, and they shall he drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine; Are we then to doubt but the Lord will arise and rebuke these winds? Christ is in the ship called the Church of God, therefore the tacklings shall not be loosed, but the mast shall be strengthened and the sails spread out, though there break up a leak in the ship: and there was a loud noise of lofty storms in this poor ship, such as fining, confining, imprisoning, banishing, silencing of the Pastors of Jesus Christ, cutting off ears, ripping of noses; yet Christ arose and rebuked these winds: and though there were cries of reconciliation with Rome, strong tides and winds of false doctrine, of altar-worship, imagery, vain Idols to represent the Father and the son Christ, massing, a new real sacrifice, the body of Popery taught in Universities, preached in Pulpits, printed in books, Christ arose and rebuked these winds; and when the three kingdoms have been swimming in blood, to hold up arbitrary power in the State, and the Tyranny of Antichristian prelates in the Church, the Lord of hosts hath also rebuked these winds, and will calm the Sea. There be also great storms of sad and lamentable divisions, and rents, alter against alter, so as the one half of the passengers are like to cast the other over board in the Sea, these are more dangerous and judgement-like winds, Oh that we could awake the Lord, that he may arise and rebuke the Sea and the winds! There hath been, and still is a cry of many provocations in both kingdoms, so that the Lord cannot have rest in heaven, for the sins of the land that are come up before him. The breach of the Covenant of God, all sort of sins against both Tables, no knowledge of God in the land, no mercy, no truth, but by swearing, lying, killing and stealing and committing adultery we break out, and blood toucheth blood; yet the Lord Jesus is a Saviour not only of persons, but also a national redeemer, he sprinkleth many nations, Esay 52. 15. with his blood, he sprinkles clean water upon nations the house of Israel, and cleanseth them from all their filthiness and idols, for his name's sake, Ezek. 36. 22. 25. it is the omnipotency of free grace that Christ arise and rebuke these winds and Seas also.  
Mark 4. 39 And there was a great calm. 
Part V.   
There be● two Characters of God in this miracle; 
Two Characters of God in this miracle: 1 That it is done in an instant, and irresistibly. 2 That it is great.  One in the manner of the doing, anger goes not away from either a man, or the Sea in an instant; when the air is calmed, and the wind removed, yet in the bowels of the Sea, there remains a wind, and so a raging and working in the Sea. But here without delay, there is a calm. Secondly, in the miracle there is a Character of God, there was a great calm.  
In the former we see God worketh irresistibly, and with efficacy. For when he saveth, we must be saved: When God saith that which Isaac said, I have blessed him; the other must follow, And he shall be blessed. Some Creatures work necessarily without any dominion over their actions; the Sun must cast out heat, the fire cannot but burn, the Sea cannot but flow; 
Things necessary to the Creature, to the Creator have a may not be: Things contingent to the Creature, may have a must be to the Creator.  but because God has truly an absolute Prerogative royal, he has a Negative voice in all the actions of the world, and what is to the creature necessary, and a must be, to the Lord it is free, though not contingent, and it hath a may be to God, and not a must be, except he will: To the creature the sea must ebb and flow, the Sun must give light, the fire must consume, the lion must devour the prey; but in all these to God, there is a must not be, except he add his affirmative voice; and therefore God commandeth the Sea neither to ebb nor flow, but to stand up as two stiff walls of glass, he covereth the sun with a web of darkness at the crucifying of the Lord of glory; he dischargeth the fire to burn the three children, and the lion to eat Daniel, and all these must be, because God has said they shall be. Again, as God putteth his may not be upon things necessary to the creature; so he putteth a law of necessity upon all the contingent actions of the creature: an arrow shot at a venture may kill Achab, and not kill Achab, but some other man near by; yet there is here to the Lord no contingency, no such thing as maybee, and may not be. But the arrow of the Lord's vengeance must be so timed, so placed, as it has no motion against any but Achab only, and against no part of him, but between the joints of his harness, that he may fall and die, according to the word of the Lord.  
The way and manner that Christ hath a calm Sea, 
use.  we have a calm Sea, and the way that Christ cometh to land, and at that very time, 
It is enough that our sea be calm, when Christ's is calm  the Disciples come to land; our stomachs rise much, we say, What is God doing? is there not a necessity in regard of divine justice, that vengeance fall upon Malignants, Papists, Prelates in these kingdoms, and bloody Irish cutthroats and murderers? But we would consider these two. First, these sixteen hundreth years, Christ hath been under wrongs, and vengeance to the full, hath not reached his enemies, as yet, for 1. the enemies of Christ are not fully subdued; 2. and many of them rotten in the dust, are not in their bodies tormented as yet; Christ suffereth injuries, and you cannot, you will not have patience to endure the cruelty of bloody men. Secondly, Christ as we see here, devideth fair weather and foul weather with his Disciples, it is enough to us, that if we be laid low, we are low with Christ▪ it is time enough that we have fair weather and come safe to shore to dry our garments at that sun that shineth to the glorified in heaven, when Christ cometh to shore; let us weep when Christ weepeth, and be buried when Christ is buried; when Christ rejoiceth and riseth again, we cannot lie rotting in the grave.  
[A great calm,] Matthew 8. 26. so calleth it {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}. This is the other Character of God in this miracle, that it is a great calm. 
greatness is printed on all the works of God.  There is nothing in God, not any judgement or work of God but greatness is printed on it; for the effect smelleth of the cause, Job 36. 26. God is great, Christ is great, as the church's danger in this Sea-voyage is great, so is the calm great; great buildings have great foundations, great ships great sails, great Sea-ebbings have great flowings, 2 Cor. 1. 10. God delivered us from so great a death, some death is but an infant death and weak, there is another death called by Bildad, Job. 18. 13. The first borne of death. The Lord showeth his people (Psal. 71. 20.) great and sore troubles, and gives them tears to drink in great measure, Psal. 80. 5. and the people is in great distress, Nehem. 9 37. and for that the Lord doth great things for them, Psal. 126. 2. and worketh a great salvation for his people, 1 Sam. 14. 45. and giveth great deliverances to David, Psal. 18. 80. and to David's seed, the Israel of God. Secondly, there is greatness written upon all the works of God, Psal. 92. 5. O Lord how great are thy works? Psal. 111. Verse. 2. The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all those that have pleasure therein. Thirdly, there is greatness written on his judgements against his enemies, for Zach. 7. 12. there is a great wrath from the Lord of hosts on those that pull away the shoulders, and makes their heart as an Adamant stone; he fighteth against the rebellious, Ier. 21. 5. in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath; and the great day of his wrath shall come upon his enemies, so that they shall not be able to stand. Fourthly, and there is a great reward for the righteous, Psal. 19 11. a great reward in heaven for them, Matth. 5. Verse. 12. A far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 2 Cor. 4. 17.  
Then great vengeance is appointed for the enemies of God, 
use 1.  Ezek. 25. 17. and great desolation on Pharaoh the great Dragon that lieth in the midst of his Rivers, Ezek. 29. 3. and when these kingdoms have committed great whoredoms, what wonder that great judgements be on us, and many more hundred thousands be slain in the three kingdoms than histories can in our ages parallel but if Babylon be a great whore, great must be her fall, all the Kings of the earth, and her Merchants shall wonder, and weep and wail at her desolation. Our King saith, he will repeal laws made against Papists in England; But it is a work above his strength to hold up the cursed throne of the beast, which God hath said he will crush; if all the Kings of the earth should make their bones pillars to hold up that throne, there is such a weight of vengeance lying on that throne, that their bones shall be bruised in powder.  
Reformation is a work of God also, 
use 2.  Zach. 13. 23. and then it is a great work, and though there be great mountains in the way, God doth rebuke and remove such mountains, Zach. 4. 7. faint not then, be strong in the Lord.  
No marvel we are to sell all and buy Christ that pearl of great price, 
use 3.  Matth. 13. 46. for none hath so near a relation to God as he; we seek great things, seek great Christ.  
Luke 8. 25. 
Part VI.  And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this? for he commandeth even the winds and waters, and they obey him.  
This is all the fruit we read this miracle produced in the Seamen, they fall a wondering, being astonished to see a man command Sea and winds. First, the miracles of Christ and all the works of God are so far inferior to his word, that they can teach us nothing of the trinity, 
we see little of God in his ways.  nor of two natures in the one person and of our mediator Jesus Christ. Secondly, O how little of God do we see, especially being void of his own light? even Job saith, though God be at our elbow, we know not it is he, Chap. 23. 8. Behold I go forward, and he is not there, and backward, but I cannot perceive him. But is this because God was neither behind Job, nor before him? no, God goeth round about us, every man may as it were, put forth his hand, and grope the almighty, Act. 17. 27. therefore Job addeth Vers. 9 (he is) on the left hand where he doth work, but I cannot behold him, he hideth himself on the right hand that I cannot see him; we cannot trace the footsteps of his unsearchable ways, alas we but sport ourselves to behold the superfice, the outside, and as it were, the brim of divine providence men or Angels cannot dive to the bottom of the ways of our Lord; Esay 55. he saith himself, Vers. 9 for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts then your thoughts. Thirdly, we come but that near Christ, that we go at the farthest three or four steps to him; some are convinced and wonder, they say this must be God, as Luke 4. 22. when Christ preaches as Christ, and like himself, they all bear him witness and wonder at the gracious words that proceed out of his mouth; yet they are not a step nearer to him, they despise him, and say, Is not this Joseph's son? Some know a Prophet hath been amongst them, Ezek. 3. 5. but they are Scorpions and briars and thorns, and will not hear. Secondly, some ate enlightened and believe for an hour, Matth. 13. 21. a faith that liveth for an hour is a sickly, dying faith. Thirdly, some are a step nearer, they have joy in Christ, Matth. 13. 20. and the word of the Prophet is, Ezek. 33. 32. to them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an Instrument; the Gospel is sweet to many, but they come not nearer, they will not hear, nor obey. Fourthly, some taste of the good Word of God, and of the powers, {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, the manifold powers of the life to come, Heb. 6. 5. yet come never nearer to Christ, but fall off, as if they were afraid to be converted, they go not a fift step farther on to give themselves up wholly to Jesus Christ.  
It is not the seamen's way only; 
use 1.  but 1. Malignants, and prelates and Papists see God in this work, 
God most visible in that he now doth in Britain, but Malignants will not see him.  they wonder, and yet they resist, Esay 26. 11. Lord thy hand is exalted, they see not, they shall see and be ashamed for their envy at the people: in this work that the Lord is working in the three kingdoms, there be sundry notes of divinity and footsteps of God, and Malignants do but wonder; as 1. when prelates and Malignants were on the top of their wheels, God, from despised and contemned beginnings, raised the work to a great height; 2. our adversaries were agents, and would not rest, but did cooperate to their own destruction: They would move the King to change Religion in Scotland against all laws. 2. They would stir him up to raise Armies by Sea and Land against Scotland. 3. They moved the King to break the articles of peace, and the word of a Prince to his Subjects, after an accommodation, and set him on bloody wars again. 4. After his Army was defeated and a Parliament granted in England they moved him first to come and yield to all that is just and right in a Parliament of Scotland, but against their mind, with no purpose to keep their faith, and then to raise tragical and bloody wars in England, and in all these they were coagents and workers with a judicial and secret providence, to their own destruction. 3. They have been searching to find out, that our intentions were not to establish Religion in power and purity, and to be freed of the bondage of arbitrary and tyrannical domination over Church and State, but to change monarchy, and set up another government; this they could never yet find. 4. They see God against them, profanity and wickedness on their side, and with them Papists, Idolaters, Irish murderers, the cruelest of men, the scum and refuse of the Churchmen, yet they will not see God in this. 5. They find and see their treachery, popery, tyranny discovered by many plots come to light, by letters under the King's hand, their intentions to bring in a foreign nation, ere popery and arbitrary government be not established; and that all Treaties have been intended, not for a just peace, but for this end that a peace being once patched and sowed up, all things shall return to their ancient Channels, as the King speaks in his instructions to his Commissioners at Uxbridge, yet they will not see God in all these passages of his deep providence.  
If natural men wonder at the power and excellency of Christ, 
use 2.  in that he with a word commands Sea and winds, 
The Lord Jesus a wonder to all.  and they obey him; should not Christ be to us a world's wonder? should he not be to us altogether lovely? were it possible to lay in the counter-scale of the balance to Christ a world of Angels, put in yet millions of worlds of Angels, add to them a world of Solomons with tripled wisdom, put in all the delights of the sons of men, put in yet the flower and Rose of ten thousand possible world's perfections, they should be under-weight to him, the balance should never down. Oh! we glory in good armies, we rejoice in victories and success, in a good Parliliament, in godly Commanders, in a good reformation, all is excellent to us, that hath any lustre or glimpse of created goodness, but why do we not rather wonder, admire and extol excellent Jesus Christ? who setteth him on high above the skies? who lifts up his throne and his glory? Consider but what is said of him, Col. 1. 15. Who is the image of the invisible God, the first borne of every creature, Vers. 16. For by him were all things created, &c. 17. And he is before all things, and in him all things consist. 18. And he is the head of the body the Church, who is the beginning, the first borne from the dead, that in all things he might have the pre-eminence; see what wonders are there in Christ, as first, he is God's equal, every way as high as God, being the substantial Image of God, begotten of the Father, and without all beginning. Secondly, as man the eldest of the creation of God, and as God the Creator of the new world. Thirdly, no less the Creator of all than the Father; we have a head who can make and unmake all the glorious Angels in heaven, the royalest of the house of heaven, these principalities and powers, these little Gods, the eldest and supreme Courtiers, the higher house of the peers of heaven, are but pieces of dependent shadows that fell from the fingers of our highest King, when he framed this great all, and the rich palace-royal of this greatest body of heaven and earth and all the furniture within the bosom of the great world. Fourthly, the Lord Jesus hath all the created world so in the hollow of his hand, as a man that holdeth a bowl of glass in his hand in the air, should he take his arm from under it, it should fall to the earth and break in a hundred pieces, and do no more good, if Christ in whom all things consist (some say) as the notes of an excellent music in a song, draw in his arms of conserving providence, the world should go all out of tune, and the Globe of crystal glass should fall to a thousand mere nothings; and as a man between his fingers may crush an egg, so hath Christ the huge created Lump of the whole creation in his hand, if he but thrust his two fingers together with a little crush, all the world is dissolved like a broken egg. Fiftly, he is the head of the Church, and such a head as is death's eldest son and heir, he lay in death's womb, and as the doubly blessed firstborn, had the key of death with him in the inner side, and opened the womb and took away the ports and gates of death on his back, that now all the younger brethren might come out at the same passage also; yea he came a bridegroom from heaven to suit in marriage a bride his Church, was sick, and died of love for a Prince's daughter his lovely Church, & rose the third day from death, and married her. Sixtly, he hath so the absolute pre-eminence in all things that the highest of the Angels are but his vassals and servants, & is now in such incomparable eminency of Glory, above all creatures, that when the beloved-disciple John who came that near to him in the days of his flesh, that he leaned on his bosom, saw him in his glory, he fell down at his feet dead, Revel. 1. 17. yea there was more of heaven in Christ then his eyes of flesh could behold.  
FINIS.