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SERMON LXXI.

[At the Hague, December 19, 1619, I preached upon this text. Since, in my sickness at Abrey-hatch, in Essex, 1630, revising my short notes of that sermon, I digested them into these two.]

MATTHEW iv. 18, 19, 20.

And Jesus walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, (for they were fishers.) And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men; and they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

SOLOMON presenting our Saviour Christ, in the name and person of wisdom, in the Book of Proverbs, puts, by instinct of the Holy Ghost, these words into his mouth, Delicia mea esse cum filiis hominum, Christ's delight is to be with the children of men1; and in satisfaction of that delight, he says in the same verse, in the person of Christ, That he rejoiced to be in the habitable parts of the earth (that is, where he might converse with men) Ludens in orbe terrarum (so the Vulgate reads it) and so our former translation had it, I took my solace in the compass of the earth. But since Christ's adversary Satan does so too, (Satan came from compassing the earth to and fro, and from walking in it;) since the Scribes and Pharisees do more than so, They compass land and sea, to make one of their own profession, the mercy of Christ is not less active, not less industrious than the malice of his adversaries, he preaches in populous cities, he preaches in the desert wilderness, he preaches in the tempestuous sea: and as his power shall collect the several dusts, and atoms, and elements of our scattered bodies at the Resurrection, as materials, members of his triumphant church; so he collects the materials, the living stone, and timber, for his militant church, from all places, from cities, from deserts, and here in this text, from the sea, (Jesus walking by the sea, &c.)

In these words we shall only pursue a twofold consideration of 2 Job i. 7.

Prov. iii. 30.

the persons whom Christ called here to his apostleship, Peter and Andrew; what their present, what their future function was, what they were, what they were to be; they were fishermen, they were to be fishers of men. But from these two considerations of these persons, arise many circumstances, in and about their calling; and their preferment for their cheerful following. For first, in the first, we shall survey the place, the sea of Galilee; and their education and conversation upon that sea, by which they were naturally less fit for this church-service. At this sea he found them casting their nets; of which act of theirs, there is an emphatical reason expressed in the text, For they were fishers, which intimates both these notes, that they did it because they were fishers; it became them, it behoved them, it concerned them to follow their trade; and then they did it as they were fishers, if they had not been fishers they would not have done it, they might not have usurped upon another's calling; (They cast their nets into the sea, for they were fishers.) And then, in a nearer consideration of these persons, we find that they were two that were called; Christ provided at first against singularity, he called not one alone; and then they were two brethren, persons likely to agree; he provided at first against schism; and then, they were two such as were nothing of kin to him, (whereas the second pair of brethren, whom he called, James and John) were his kinsmen) he provided at first, against partiality, and that kind of simony, which prefers for affection. These men, thus conditioned naturally, thus disposed at this place, and at this time, our blessed Saviour calls; and then we note their readiness, they obeyed the call, they did all they were bid, they were bid follow, and they followed, and followed presently; and they did somewhat more than seems expressly to have been required, for, they left their nets, and followed him. And all these substantial circumstances invest our first part, these persons in their first estate. For those that belong to the second part, their preferment upon this obedience, (Follow me, and I will make fishers of men) it would be an impertinent thing, to open them now, because I do easily foresee, that this day we shall not come to that part.

In our first part, the consideration of these persons then, though in this text Peter be first named, yet we are to note, that this was

not the first time of their meeting; when Christ and they met first, which was, when John Baptist made that declaration upon Christ's walking by him, Behold the Lamb of God3, Peter was not the first that applied himself to Christ, nor that was invited by Christ's presenting himself to him, to do it; Peter was not there; Peter was not the second; for, Andrew, and another, who were then John Baptist's disciples, and saw Christ declared by him, were presently affected with a desire to follow Christ, and to converse with him, and to that purpose press him with that question, Magister, ubi habitas? They profess that they had chosen him for their master, and they desire to know where he dwelt, that they might wait upon him, and receive their instructions from him. And in Andrew's thus early applying himself to Christ, we are also to note, both the fecundity of true religion; for, as soon as he had found Christ, he sought his brother Peter, Et duxit ad Jesum, he made his brother as happy as himself, he led him to Jesus; (and that other disciple, which came to Christ as soon as Andrew did, yet because he is not noted to have brought any others but himself, is not named in the Gospel) and we are to observe also, the unsearchable wisdom of God in his proceedings, that he would have Peter, whom he had purposed to be his principal apostle, to be led to him by another, of inferior dignity, in his determination. And therefore Conversus converte, think not thyself well enough preached unto, except thou find a desire, that thy life and conversation may preach to others, and Edoctus disce, think not that thou knowest anything, except thou desire to learn more; neither grudge to learn of him, whom thou thinkest less learned than thyself; the blessing is in God's calling, and ordinance, not in the good parts of the man; Andrew drew Peter, the lesser in God's purpose for the building of the church, brought in the greater. Therefore doth the church celebrate the memory of St. Andrew, first of any saint in the year; and after they had been altogether united in that one festival of All Saints, St. Andrew is the first that hath a particular day. He was Primogenitus Testamenti Novi, the first Christian, the first begotten of the New Testament; for, John Baptist, who may seem to have the birthright before him, had his conception in the Old Testa

ment in the womb of those prophecies of Malachi3, and of Isaiah", of his coming, and of his office, and so cannot be so entirely referred to the New Testament, as St. Andrew is. Because therefore, our adversaries of the Roman heresy distil, and rack every passage of Scripture, that may drop anything for the advantage of St. Peter, and the almightiness of his successor, refuse not the occasion offered from this text, compared with that other (John i.) to say, that if that first coming to Christ were but (as they used to say) Ad notitiam et familiaritatem, and this in our text, Ad apostolatum, that they that came there, came but to an acquaintance, and conversation with Christ, but here, in this text, to the apostleship, yet, to that conversation, (which was no small happiness) Andrew came clearly before Peter, and to this apostleship here, Peter did not come before Andrew; they came together.

These two then our Saviour found, as he walked by the sea of Galilee. No solitude, no tempest, no bleakness, no inconvenience averts Christ, and his spirit, from his sweet, and gracious, and comfortable visitations. But yet, this that is called here, the see of Galilee, was not properly a sea; but according to the phrase of the Hebrews, who call all great meetings of waters, by that one name, a sea, this, which was indeed a lake of fresh water, is called a sea. From the root of Mount Libanus, spring two rivers, Jor, and Dan; and these two, meeting together, joining their waters, join their names too, and make that famous river Jordan; a name so composed, as perchance our river is, Thamesis, of Thame, and Isis. And this river Jordan falling into this flat, makes this lake, of sixteen miles long, and some six in breadth. Which lake being famous for fish, though of ordinary kinds, yet of an extraordinary taste and relish, and then of extraordinary kinds too, not found in other waters, and famous, because divers famous cities did engirt it, and become as a garland to it, Capernaum, and Chorazim, and Bethsaida, and Tiberias, and Magdalo, (all celebrated in the Scriptures) was yet much more famous for the often recourse, which our Saviour (who was of that country) made to it; for this was the sea, where he amazed Peter, with that great draught of fishes, that brought him to say,

Exi à me Domine, Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a sinful man'; this was the sea, where himself walked upon the waters; and where he rebuked the tempest'; and where he manifested his Almighty power many times. And by this lake, this sea, dwelt Andrew and Peter, and using the commodity of the place, lived upon fishing in this lake; and in that act our Saviour found them, and called them to his service. Why them? why fishers?

First, Christ having a greater, a fairer Jerusalem to build than David's was, a greater kingdom to establish than Judah's was, a greater temple to build than Solomon's was, having a greater work to raise, yet he begun upon a less ground; he is come from his twelve tribes, that afforded armies in swarms, to twelve persons, twelve apostles; from his Judah and Levi, the foundations of state and church, to an Andrew and a Peter fishermen, seamen; and these men accustomed to that various, and tempestuous element, to the sea, less capable of offices of civility, and sociableness, than other men, yet must be employed in religious offices, to gather all nations to one household of the faithful, and to constitute a communion of saints; they were seamen, fishermen, unlearned, and indocile; why did Christ take them? Not that thereby there was any scandal given, or just occasion of that calumny of Julian the apostate, that Christ found it easy to seduce, and draw to his sect, such poor ignorant men as they were; for Christ did receive persons eminent in learning, (Saul was so) and of authority in the state, (Nicodemus was so) and of wealth, and ability, (Zaccheus was so, and so was Joseph of Arimathea) but first he chose such men, that when the world had considered their beginning, their insufficiency then, and how improper they were for such an employment, and yet seen that great work so far, and so fast advanced, by so weak instruments, they might ascribe all power to him, and ever after, come to him cheerfully upon any invitation, how weak men soever he should send to them, because he had done so much by so weak instruments before: to make his work in all ages after prosper the better, he proceeded thus at first. And then, he chose such men for another reason too; to show that how insufficient soever he received them, yet he received them into such a school, such an university, as should 9 Matt. viii. 23.

7 Luke v. 8.

8 Matt. xiv. 25.