of them for he made them all Dixit facta sunt saith the Psalmist he spake but the word and all things were made hee commanded and they stood all fast hee did but speake the word let the earth bring forth her increase and also the waters and presently both earth and sea they were replenished with all manner of varietie Brevis sermo sed valde vehement saith Saint Ambrose a short speech it was indeede saith hee that God spake but yet withall it was a speech that was full of power the efficacie of that speech it brought forth the greatest as well as the least creatures and in the same time too for in the same time the whole was made that hee was making of a Frogge Non laborat in maximis Deus non fastidit in minimis saith Saint Ambrose God saith hee did not labour in the making of the greatest things nor yet contemne the making of the meanest hee made all things by his power and therefore worthily is Master of all Was hee not worthy to bee Master of Man as well as of other Creatures when hee made such diuers and contrarie Elements for to meete together in one and the selfe same body and accord in one Fire and Water Aire and Earth Heate and Cold and all in one and the selfe same place and yet hath so tempered them together as that one is the defence and maintenance of the other Nay more then this saith Saint Bernard Mirabilis societas In man hee hath made a wonderfull societie for in him Heauen and Earth Maiesty and Basenesse Excellencie and Pouertie hee hath matched together What is higher then the spirit of life What is baser then the slime of the earth his soule it was infused into him the spirit of life his body it was made of the dust of the earth This was that that made Gregorie Nazianzen to break into that same exclamation of himselfe what great and wonderfull miracle was within himselfe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. I am litle and yet I am great I am humbled and yet I am exalted I am mortall and yet I am immortall I am earthly and yet I am heauenly little in body but great in soule humble as being earth but yet exalted aboue the earth mortall as he that must dye immortall as he that shall rise againe earthly as whose body was taken from the earth heauenly as whose soule was breathed feom aboue And will not all this then make him well deserue the Name and Title of Master amongst vs Yes But here hee hath a double Title Master Master What of that Why hee hath a double Mastership he was their Master Iure creationis by the right of their creation but much more Master Iure redemptionis by right and title of their redemption when man had lost himselfe and defaced that glorious image that God at the first had left within him then came our Sauiour Christ Iesus in a mercifull Redeemer and reconciled his Father and Man together againe Henceforth let vs not repine at the fall of our Grand-father for Christ our Sauiour hath made satisfaction for it Was he cast away for the price of an Apple Why yet he is redeemed for a great deale lesse he was redeemed in meere loue and pitie The sixth day of the weeke as it is thought Adam fell for it is thought that he fell the same day that hee was made the sixth day of the weeke againe Adam and his posteritie were redeemed from death The same day that he fell he was redeemed And as God in the beginning rested on the seuenth day so Christ our Sauiour saith Saint Augustine sabbatizanit in monumento kept holy the Sabboth euen in the graue to teach vs to make more account of that day then the world vsually doth in these our times For for all that belonged vnto the saluation of man he finished that vpon the crosse before his departure hence when hee cried Consummatum est all is finished Ioh. 19.30 Iohn 19. Then all was performed that was requisite for vs and hauing finished his worke he rested as securely in his graue as the most secure man of vs all doth rest in his bed And in this redemption which he so kindly performed for vs there are two things especially to bee considered of vs Modus and Fructus the manner and the fruit of our redemption The Manner it was wonderfull Exinanitio Dei saith the Apostle the emptying of God the fulnesse of all things The emptying of him I say and that in three regards First into the flesh Secondly vnto the death Thirdly lastly vnto the death of the crosse O who can worthily esteeme these three as hee ought to do his worth his humilitie his loue vnto mankinde That the God of all Maiesty should be cloathed with the garment of humane flesh That hee should consent to dye and that hee should dye so miserable and cursed a death Here speech must faile vs and our safest eloquence must bee admiration Let vs sometimes in the feare of God call our selues to account for these things and thinke what great things the Lord hath done for euery one of our soules and then let vs be ashamed at our owne vnthankfulnesse againe that he being Lord of all became obedient and seruant for the very worst of vs Of being rich in all things became poore and miserable in most that were necessary That of the word he became flesh Of the sonne of God that he should become the sonne of base and mortall man Let vs remember that though at the first we were made of nothing yet that afterwards we were not redeemed of nothing In sixe dayes at the first God made heauen and earth and all things that in them were contained but in the redemption of Man our Sauiour was three and thirty yeares and vpwards a working of it vpon the earth O how much in that time did he suffer for our sakes The necessities of the flesh the contempt and scorne of the world the temptations both of the Diuell and of mankinde Can wee thinke that pouerty in all that time did not oppresse him nor shame did not touch him nor yet the wrath and anger of his Father any whit amaze him Certainly certainly beloued the least of all these did touch him neere and the greatest that was the fury of his Father did make him make that lamentable cry vpon the Crosse the like wherof was neuer heard in Ages before nor euer shall be heard againe vnto the ending of the world My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Yet thus O Lord didst thou worke the saluation of Man and wonderfully towards him hath beene thy loue Let vs thinke of these things seriously let vs thinke of them often and then I make no question but we shall thinke we haue great reason to think him a double Master vnto vs. And they came vnto him and awaked him saying Master Master But yet the
cause of his double Appellation here in this place it was the feare of the Apostles that infused it selfe into them and the earnest desire that they had to be deliuered from their imminent danger was that that made them double their speeches vnto him Master Master What wee heartily wish for we often repeate Helpe Helpe we cry in time of danger Rescue Rescue in time of distresse So is it here with our Apostles in this place in this time of feare when the storme raged and the seas went high Volvuntur vt aequora montes as the Poet speakes one billow tossed them vp as high as heauen and another suddenly drenched them in the botome of the deep When life almost had quite forsaken them and death was ready to seize vpon them then they cry vnto him Master Master Qui nescit orare discat nauigare saith the Latine Prouerbe if there be any so pampred here vpon the land as I am afraid many thousands there are that haue forgot their duties vnto the Lord neuer think of him but when they borrow his name to sweare by let them go to sea and if they bee not past grace quite so that they haue not as the Apostle speakes Cauteriatam conscientiam a seared conscience that can feele no touch of remorse hee shall bee taught once a day at the least to call vpon the name of the Lord. And they came vnto him and awaked him saying Master Master we perish Our life though it be in a dangerous place as Saint Ambrose telles Quam diu in salo isto tam diu inter naufragia so long as we liue in the sea of this world so long also wee are in continuall danger of shipwrack to be spoyled and we our selues doe continually so ouercharge our soules and bodies both with sinne as that euery day we presse deeper and deeper towards the bottomlesse pit of hell Yet such is the friendship that is contracted betweene the body and the soule by the long familiarity and acquaintance each of other as that they are loath to part and leaue each others company They desire to continue longer together if longer it might be and they care not what shifts they vse for the enioying their desire That made Saint Peter to deny his Maister because hee thought it would call his life in question And all the Disciples for feare of death withdrew themselues from our Sauiours company because they saw those friends must part that had liued so long combined together Terrible and fearefull it is vnto man to thinke of the dissolution of soule and body Anima absoluitur corpus resoluitur as Saint Ambrose speakes where the soule is freed and set at libertie the body againe resolued into the first principles This is that which the natural man cannot endure to heare of and therefore vpon the very thought of it hee is ready with the Apostles to cry out for helpe Master Master wee perish indeed But yet this was not the onely cause though of their crying out in this place though that might helpe to set an accent vpon it for they knew that there was a necessity by nature laid vpon thē once for to dye Intrasti vt cocires was a condition annexed to our creation We must make roome for others as well as others before haue done for vs. And so much the Heathen Poet could say Omnes vna manet nox calcanda semel via lethi they must not thinke much to vndergoe that which all are enioyned necessarily vnto Equalitie is the chiefe ground-worke of equitie and who can complaine to be comprehended where all are contained especially when they shall consider the extraordinarie benefite that death shall bring with it viz. the taking away of sinning any further Death it was once laid vpon man as a punishment for sinning quo die comederis c. what day soeuer thou shalt eate of the forbidden fruit thou shalt certainly dye Death there is appointed as the punishment to sinne but now it is giuen as a benefite and remedy vnto man to keepe him from sinning any further Morere ne pecces dye soone that thou mayst not sinne more against thy maker Quod tunc timendum fuit vt non peccaretur nunc suscipiendum est ne peccetur saith S. Aug. what was once feared is now a benefite vnto mankinde But the feare of eternall death was that that did amaze them more then any of the other particulars spoken of before To perish both in body and in soule and that eternally too this is that that would make thē awake him quickly To perish when they were but Semi-christiani halfe Christians like Agrippa in the 26 of the Acts Act. 26.28 thou perswadest me almost saith hee to Paul to bee a Christian to perish when they were but newly initiated into the Schoole of Christ before they knew the mysteries belonging to their saluation necessarily was that that made them cry out aloud They were ignorant in the fundamentall poynts for the Holy Ghost doth testifie of them in diuers places That they knew not the Scriptures that they vnderstood not that saying of his that they knew him not yet to bee the Messias and then how fearefull a matter it was for them to dye vnresolued you your selues by your selues may easily iudge This feare here of eternall perishing made them cry so earnestly to bee deliuered from the feare of death Maister Maister we perish in our bodies but which is fearefull to be thought vpon also we perish euerlastingly in our soules in hell In our bodily conflicts here vpon the earth either the sence of paine is quite taken away by death or else if our nature bee strong and lusty it soone in wrestling ouercomes the paines of death but in this second death the death of the soule the griefe remaines for euermore that so our nature might be afflicted without any end and our nature indures also that for euer it might bee punished in the endlesse flames for transgressing against so infinite a God neither shall faile neither nature nor paine that so both may bee eternall vnto the wicked The first death doth separate the vnwilling soule from the body but the second death keepes the soule though much vnwillingly for euer in paine together with the body from which paine God for his Christ Iesus sake keepe vs all Amen And so we are come to the finall conclusion of these same words Then he arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water and they ceased and there was a calme Hitherto our Sauiour hath beene patient in these troubles and rested himselfe quietly in these stormy gusts both of winde and water but now he begins to bee a Master indeed and takes vpon him both the bridling of the one and of the other he rebukes the winde and appeases the raging of the troubled water and at his rebuke they both cease and there is a calme But before we come to the appeasing of this
he haue not some affliction layd vpon him to keepe him vnder he will forget himselfe and be ready to spurne against his maker which makes S. Augustine so violently to cry out Hic vre domine hic seca punish me here O Lord in this life and so in the life to come I shall be sure thou wilt forgiue me Be it then a losse of our goods which we suffer here why sayes Saint Ambrose Deus nos dispensatores reliquit non haredes God sayes he he makes vs his stewards here not his heires hee may call for an account particularly of euery one of vs whensoeuer it pleaseth him either now at this instant or else at any other time when it shall seeme better vnto his maiesty and God grant that we may all be ready to giue vp a iust and a true account vnto him This same dropsie and thirst after riches which the world hath gottē is not naturall but a corruption of our nature Nescit natura diuites quae omnes ex aequo pauperes generat sayes S. Ambrose Nature sayes he doth acknowledge no rich man who of equal condition hath made all poore for naturally one is prouided of no more then is another but all of vs as we came into the world so we shal go againe and how we came and must goe holy Iob doth declare Iob. 1.21 Naked came we out of our mothers wombe Iob. 1.21 and naked must we return againe the Lord giueth and the Lord taketh away and blessed for all bee the Name of the Lord. Man for a time may haue the vse of Gods good creatures heere some more some lesse as it pleaseth him but none not the least of them shall he be able to carry away with him when hee shal depart this present life It is re-por-ted of the mighty Saradine the Prince and gouernor of eleuen Nations that when he felt death begin to approach he commanded his winding sheete to be spread in his Campe with this Proclamation Heere is all of all the riches that great Saradine shall carry away with him And yet if he had cast his cards right he should haue found he should not haue had that for that should carry him away not hee that and therefore in vaine was that Proclamation But yet in this affliction of goods it is not the vsuall wont of Almighty God when he calles men to account to bereaue them of all that they haue and leaue them iust nothing and so depart from them hee will leaue them his grace at the least to appease quiet their soules within them but yet he will restore them temporall goods to when he shall see good as we may read in the story of Iob hee tooke much from that holy man hundreds of Oxen Iob. 1.3 thousands of Camels Iob. 1. but yet hee tooke not so much from him though but that he returned him twice as much againe Iob. 42.10 Iob. 42. Whereupon sayth Saint Origen Vide quid est amittere aliquid pro Deo hoc est multiplicata recipere tibi See saies hee what it is to loose any thing for the Lords sake it is to receiue it augmented and multiplyed againe into our bosomes and we know all what our Sauiours promise in this kinde is in the tenth of Marke There is none sayes hee that hath left house or brethren Mark 10.30 or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my name sake and the Gospels but he shall receiue an hundred fold now in this time houses and brethren and sisters and mothers and children and lands I but how shall he receiue all this the next words following shall make all plaine cum persecutione with persecution and trouble he shall receiue them all to teach him not to set his minde too much vpon them but to expect his reward indeed in a better life the iife come Be it againe a sicknesse of the body or a griefe sorrow of the mind which we do sustaine Certamen est non faenitia sayes Seneca the Phylosopher it is but a tryall of our patience no outragious tyranny and the more we shall be exercised in this kinde the more able we shall be to endure the misery of it and withall it is an argument of his loue and kindnesse vnto vs so the Apostle telles vs Heb. 12. Heb. 12.7 Whom the Lord loueth he chastiseth saith he and scourgeth euery sonne that hee receiueth wee are not without fault we know that we should deserue no correction and he againe when hee striketh vs he doth it not out of any hatred vnto vs for as S. Cyprian speakes hee doth it for no other end purpose but onely to amend vs and what is his intent in amending vs but eternally to saue vs then what great hurt is there in whatsoeuer he doth vnto vs Should hee intend our destruction why he might if it pleased him once for all take revenge vpon vs for all our offences with the breath of his nostrilles he might consume vs quite for what are we but Crickets and Grasse-hoppers in comparison of him and so might quickly confound all the strength wee haue but God hee delighteth more in mercy to bee pittifull then in iustice to take revenge vpon mankinde Misericordia supra omnia opera mannum ipsius his mercy is ouer all his workes and God in his fury does not forget his mercy but in it remembers to be pittifull euen vnto his enemies He meant to plague the Egyptians when hee shewed his power so strange amongst them yet the very choyce of his weapons did shew his loue kindnesse vnto them he might haue brought vpon them an Army of Beares Wolues Tygers or Lyons Beasts that know no mercy but liue altogether vpon the spoyle but hee refused them all and a more milde reuenge he would make to serue his turne a poore Caterpiller and a weake Grasse-hopper shall bee the scourge of his mighty power And if hee then deale so kindly with his enemies yea euen with those where yet he purposes to get himselfe a name as hee himselfe professes vnto Moses Exod. 14. then surely Exod. 14.4 hee will be much more kinde and mercifull vnto his owne children such as he professes himselfe to haue a care ouer A milde rod indeed shall serue his turne amongst them the rod of the roote of Iesse Num. 17.10 which flowred amōgst the other rods that so the sweetnes of the flowre might mitigate the seueritie and sharpnesse of the rod a lingring ague or a pining consumption shall bring vs home gently vnto our father Be it persecution vnto death why vnto Salomons throne there is purpureus ascensus Cant. 3. there is a purple ascent Cant. 3.10 and all is still vnto the beauty and perfection of the Church The perfectest beauty wee all know it is the perfectest mixture of red and white in the former part the sicknesse of the body there was whitenesse as
the lilley and heere in martyrdome there is rednesse as the rose the Church it has both her lillies and her roses to adorne her beautie Martyrdome it is termed by the auncient Fathers a fire which God suffers to be kindled heere vpon the earth to the tryall of man and so S. Aug. cals it where speaking of Martyrdome hee sayes Inventus est ignis qui vnum ditet alterum damnificet ambos probet behold saies he heere is a fire found out which shall inrich the one and damnifie the other but yet proue both the godly and the righteous it shal inrich with eternall happinesse but the wicked and the reprobate it shall consume to dust and ashes it shall try both throughly what mettall they be made of But in the tryall this shall be the comfort of the godly man that he shall not be left desolate in this furious flame visitat deus in carcere suos ibi plus est auxilij vbi semper plui est periculi saith S. Amb. God he will not forsake but come to visit his when they lie in the dungeon as he did his seruant Ioseph and still where there is most daunger there still hee will bee sure to affoord most ayde and comfort and the reason of it we neede not much wonder at Mat. 25.43 when as in the 25. of Math. he does professe it himselfe that he himselfe it is that is so handled in his members in carcere eram visitastis me I was in prison saies he and ye came vnto me if then he wil be with them in their torments in prison then surely at the stake he will not be absent but there hee will assist with all meanes needefull I there hee has beene knowne to haue beene present indeede with many of our land and many yet at this day are left aliue which can testifie the sweetnesse that the Martyrs felt in the midest of these flames how ioyfully they imbraced that death of theirs And no maruaile neither though they died with vndaunted courage when the sence of pain was taken quite from them Nil crus sentit in neruo cum manus est in coelo sayes Tertull. the sinewes saith he of the hand can feele but little paine I trowe in the flame when the whole hand before is in the bosome of the Lord then so many woundes they are but so many open mouthes to caroll out the praises of a mercifull God and so much for this second Accident there came downe a storme of winde vpon the lake c. The 3d. and last Accident followes and they were filled with water and were in ieopardy Hitherto we haue heard as our Sauiour Christ speakes himselfe in the 13. of Mar. a rumor of warre Mar. 13.7 but thankes be to God wee haue felt no warre wee haue heard a noise of the winde but now wee are come to the trouble of the water The Apostles heere they were not as sometimes their forefathers were Exod. 14. in the 14. of Exod. in the red sea but now they are come in marimortuo they are ouerwhelmed in the dead sea their liues are called in question They were filled with water saies the text and they were in ieopardie To be in a storme and gust of winde there is no great matter of moment in that many a poore soule amongst vs has indured many of them and done well after them all too and many dayly wee heare doe indure their rigour but when their ship is foundred with water vnder them when life and soule are ready to shake hands and depart this present world then it is high time to cry out for helpe vnto the Lord Serua nos domine perimus help master or else wee all perish They were heere in a great extremity they were filled with water and they were in ieopardy Saint Peter in the 12. of the Acts Acts 12.4 he heard a loud storme and a terrible blustering winde when in prison hee was clapt vp by Herod at the request of the Iewes his life was threatned too but Saint Stephen in the 7. of the Acts Acts 7 58. hee was in the showre when such a showre of stones were rained vpon him that euen in the first moment he gaue vp the ghost The noyse then heere of the water it is the tumult of the people for beloued there is a great affinitie betweene these two the water and the people and to shew how neere the one comes vnto the other the Psalmist Psal 65.7 in the Psal 65. in one verse there he ioynes them both together which stillest saies he the raging of the sea and the noise of his waues and the madnesse of the people Their tumult it is so great as that hee can liken them to nothing else but to the sea in his rage which beares downe all that does withstand it Acts 14.5 Paul and Barnabas they were in a tempest in the 14. of the Actes when they were so despightfully vsed by the Iewes at Iconium as that they looked euery minute to haue their liues taken away from them but Saint Iames he was wet with the showre when his head was taken off by Herod and his body wallowed in his owne bloody gore Acts 12. Acts 12.2 The Deuill he is the author of these gustes and stormes for he sends them downe from his ayrie mansion where he rules and domineeres Ephes 2 2 Ephes 2. and by his boistrous blasts still seekes to crosse the proceedings of the Lord wee may euen see it in Christ our Sauiour how he seekes to thwart and hinder his courses Has God sayes he anoynted him with the oyle of gladnes aboue his fellowes I will see if I can anoint him again with the oyle of sadnesse aboue his fellowes has hee beene baptised with water and the holy Ghost I will prouide for him another baptisme namely of fire has God sent downe the holy ghost in likenesse of a Doue and caused it to light vpon his head then I will cause tribulation and a crown of thorns to crown his temples as wel as it has there a voice come from heauen saying this is my beloued sonne in whom I am wel pleased then I likewise will prouide a voice for him from the foote of the ladder which shall say if thou be the sonne of God come downe from the crosse and saue thy selfe Thus still he is contrary vnto God in his courses raises his stormes to the hinderance of the Gospell and if he haue done thus in Christ our Sauiour then what may wee expect which be his members surely the vtmost of perils that his wit can inuent Yet this may be our comfort in our troubles that howsoeuer our afflictions be yet the Deuill has not the rod in his owne hands but the holy ghost to order and direct them still as may best serue both for his glory and our good And as for the Deuill he has bound him fast