Peter was come down out of the Ship he walked on the Water to go to Jesus But when he saw the Wind boysterous he was afraid and beginning to sink he cryed saying Lord save me And immediately Jesus stretched forth his Hand and caught him and said unto him O thou little Faith wherefore didst thou doubt And when they were come into the ship the Wind ceased Then they that were in the ship worshipped him saying Of a Truth thou art the Son of God And now here all Sea-men and others you may see it is Christ that saves and stills the boysterous Winds and Waves and makes them to cease and therefore ye are not to doubt but be stedfast in Faith in all Storms and Tempests and see and feel Jesus to lay hold upon you as he did upon Peter to save you from sinking in time of storms who stills the Waves of the Sea who is the same to day as he was yesterday and so for ever A Rock of your Age and a Foundation of your Generation as he was of former Ages as you may see Mat. 14. from verse 22. to verse 33. and John 6.17 18 19 20 21. And again in Mark 6. from 47. to 51. there you Sea-men may see When Christ's Disciples entered the Ship they had forgotten to take Bread neither had they in the ship with them more then one Loaf And Christ charged them saying Take heed of the Leaven of the Pharisees and of the Leaven of Herod And the Disciples reasoned among themselves saying It is because we have no Bread And when Jesus knew it he said unto them Why reason ye because ye have no Bread Perceive ye not neither understand Have ye your Hearts yet hardned having Eyes and see ye not And having Ears and hear ye not For do you not remember when I broke the five Loaves among five Thousand how many Baskets full of Fragments took ye up And they said Twelve And when the seven to wit Loaves among four Thousand how many Baskets full of Fragments took ye up and they said Seven And Jesus said unto his Disciples How is it that ye do not understand Now consider ye Seamen and Fisher-men and others that are not Disciples of Christ for sometimes in your Ships ye have been in scarcity of Bread and now here was Christ and his Disciples which had but one Loaf in the Ship and Christ convinceth them that they had enough by his former Miracles And therefore they that have Christ they have enough they have him by whom all things were made who gives the Encrease as you may see by his Miracles And therefore it is good for every one to see with the pure Eye and hear with the Pure Ear so that they may perceive and understand with the pure Heart what Christ did and doth do and what he is able to do in all Necessities and to take heed of Herod's and the Fair-sayers Leaven which are not the Doers but resist Christ who doth not only say but doth the Will of his Father and so do all them that follow him Mark 8.13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21. Mat. 16.6 7 8 9 10 11 12. And again Christ saw two Ships standing by the Lake but the Fishermen were gone out of them and were washing their Nets And he entered into one of the Ships which was Simon 's and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the Land and he sate down and taught the People out of the Ship Now when he had left speaking he said unto Simon Lanch out into the deep and let down your Nets for a Draught And Simon answered and said unto him Master We have toyled all Night and have taken nothing nevertheless at thy word I will let down the Net And when they had let down the Net they enclosed a great Multitude of Fishes and their Net brake and they beckoned unto their Partners which were in the other Ship that they should come and help them and they came and filled both the Ships so that they begâ—n to siâ—k And when Simon Peter saw it he fell down at Jesus's Knees saying Depart from me for I am a sinful man O Lord. For Peter was astonished and all that were with him at the Draught of Fishes which they had taken And so was also James and John the Son of Zebedee which were Partners with Simon And Jesus said unto Simon Fear not from hence forth thou shalt catch men And when they had brought their Ships to Land they forsook all and followed Jesus Now here all you Seamen and Fisher-men and others may see that you may toyl all night to catch outward Fish with the nets and take nothing And you that call your selves Fishers of Men you may toyl all the night and catch not a manin God's Net to him except it be with the Power of Christ and know his Voice and obey it and follow him by whom all things were made And so there is not a Sparrow that falls to the Ground nor a Fish in a Fisherman's Net but by the Will of the father And therefore all ye Fisher-men and others are to stand in the Will of God who gives the Encrease and fills the Nets and the Ships and therefore let him have the Praise and follow him And here you may see the Fisher-men and Seamen James and John and Peter and Andrew were Fishermen and Seamen and Partners together in Ships and Preachers of Christ Jesus and catcht a Multitude of outward fish and a Multitude of men which they fish'd out of the great sea of the World by the Command and Power of Christ Luke 5.2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11. and Mat. 8.18 And after Christ was risen he shewed himself again to his Disciples at the Sea of Tyberius on this wise he shewed himself There were together Simon Peter and Thomas called Didimus and Nathaniel of Canaan in Galilee and the Sons of Zebedee and two other of his Disciples Simon Peter said unto them I go a fishing they say unto him We also go with thee They went forth and entered into a Ship immediately and that Night they caught nothing but when the Morning was come Jesus stood on the Shore but the Disciples knew not that it was Jesus Then Jesus said unto them Children have ye any Meat And they answered him No and he said unto them Cast the Net on the right Side of the Ship and ye shall find and they cast therefore and now they were not able to draw it for the Multitude of Fishes Therefore that Disple whom Jesus loved said unto Peter It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord he girt his Fishers Coat unto him for he was naked and did cast himself into the Sea and the other Disciples came in a little Ship for they were not far from Land but as it were two hundred Cubits dragging the Net with Fishes Assoon then as they were come
to the Land they saw a Fire of Coals there and Fish laid thereon and Bread And Jesus said unto them Bring of the Fish which ye have now caught and Simon Peter went up and drew the Net to the Land full of great Fishes c. And Jesus said unto them Come and dine c. And Jesus then cometh and taketh Bread and giveth them and Fish likewise c. And this was now the third time that Jesns shewed himself after he was risen from the dead John 21.2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14. And now all ye Fishermen and Sea-men and others consider what kind of Disciples and Ministers the Lord Jesus Christ chose and you may see that Peter and the rest though they had been Disciples of Christ Jesus for some Years and such that Christ had sent forth to preach before he was crucified and after that he was risen Christ appeared the third time unto them and Peter had his Fishers Coat and the Disciples which were Fishermen and Seamen they were Partners together in a Ship And now was this a fit Coat think you to preach the Gospel in and to meet Christ in and to dine with him in I say Yes as good as any of the Canonnical Garments And consider ye Fishermen and Seamen and others how all these Disciples had been fishing all the Night but had caught nothing But when the Morning was come and they saw Jesus after he was risen at his Command they cast in the Net and drew it full of fish to the Shore So it is by the Will of God and Christ that every one doth catch who made all things and upholds all things by his word and power and fills all and knows what all have need of for as Christ saith A Sparrow shall not fall to the Ground without the Will of the Father so a fish cannot be caught in the Net without his Will And likewise you fishermen and seamen and others may see that Jesus by whom all things were made had provided these fishermen and seamen who were his Disciples a Fire and Fish upon it and Bread upon the Land when they had been fishing in the Sea And therefore you may see how that Christ that upholds all things and hath all power given unto him provides for his Disciples and Seamen and Fishermen for he gave them both Fish in the Sea and Fish and Bread upon the Land whom he sent forth and gave Commission to preach and said Freely ye have received freely give So here ye may all see how the Disciples of Christ were encouraged to trust in him and that their minds might be carried over all Distrust of carnal things and outward victuals And now ye Fishermen and Seamen and all others may see Christ's Words fulfilled unto his Disciples who said unto them Follow me and I will make you Fishers of Men for Peter at one Draught caught three Thousand in God's Net and ye may read Peter's two General Epistles which he freely gave forth And also ye may see John the Fisherman a Disciple of Christ his Evangelists his General Epistle and his two Epistles and his Revelations Come ye Seamen and Fishermen and others and see what ye can say for Christ that is the same to day as yesterday and so forever and come let us see what Nets ye have if it be the Power of God that will pluck them out of the Sea of Wickedness And if the Seamen had taken Paul's Counsel when he said Sirs I perceive that this Voyage will be for Hurt and much Damage not only of the Lading and Ship but also of our Lives But neither the Centurion nor the Master believed Paul's Words but his Words came to pass as you may see in Acts 27. But the Lord preserved Paul and their Lives And so you may see it is not the seamans skill but the Lord's Power which all are to have faith in and to obey him by which they are saved and preserved And James one of the fishermen and an Apostle of Christ in his General Epistle to the Twelve Tribes he saith Behold we put Bits in the Horses Mouthes that they may obey us and we turn about their whole Body Behold also the Ships which though they be so great and are driven of fierce Winds yet are they turned about with a very small Helm whither soever the Governour listeth even so the Tongue is a little Member and boasteth great things Behold how great a matter a little Fire kindleth and the Tongue is a Fire a World of Iniquity c. And now mark all ye seamen and all ye bridles of Horses and all others that tame other Creatures see that you can bridle and tame your own Tongues and turn about your Tongues in your passion assoon as you do your Horses and assoon as you do your great Ships when you turn them about so see that you can so soon turn your Tongues when the fierce Winds of Passion are up and tame your Tongues least that unruly Member defile your whole Bodies and Set on fire the Course of Nature and it is set on Fire of Hell James 3. For can you tame Serpents and all kind of Beasts and of Birds and things in the Sea and not tame your Tongue that unruly Member that is full of deadly Poyson Bridle it I say with God's Bridle his Power For The Tongue of the just is as choice Silver and the Tongue of the wise is Health Prov. 10.20 12.18 The Tongue of the wise useth Knowledge aright and a wholesome Tongue is a Tree of Life Prov. 15.2 4. And in a Virtuous Woman's Tongue is the Law of Kindness Prov. 31.26 And Paul an Apostle of Jesus Christ who made Tents with Priscilla and Aquilla and wrought with his Hands that he might not be chargeable to others and he did not only maintain himself but he also helped others with his Labour who had received his Gospel not from man but by the Revesation of Jesus Christ which he preached freely as he had received of Christ freely after Christ was risen for Christ had given his Command to his Twelve Disciples before he was crucified Freely as they had received freely give And now consider Matthew who was called from his Custom and Luke who was a Phisitian and John the Fisher-man and Peter and the rest who were Disciples of Christ did not they give forth all their Evanglists and Epistles freely as they preached freely And did not Paul the Apostle of Christ who was a Tent-maker who said of the Jews Five times I received Forty Stripes save One Thrice was I beaten with Rods Once was I stoned Thrice I suffered Shipwrack A Night and a Day I have been in the deep in journying often in Perils of Waters in Perils of Robbers in Perils of my own Country-men in Perils by the Heathen in Perils in the City in Perils in the Wilderness in Perils in the Sea in Perils among false Brethren
see if they be not guilty of this and whether or no they have not sometimes cast some poor simple people into the Sea in pretence of being Witches And so let them and you see that hold such things and believe such things if you be not in Disobedience to the Power Spirit and Faith of God and in the Sin of Witchcraft your selves For you may see it was the Lord that sent out the Wind and raised that mighty Storm in the Sea and not your witches nor ill-tongued People as you vainly imagine as you may see Jonah 1.14 For if you were in the true saving Faith which Christ Jesus is the Author of that Faith gives you Victory over the Devil the Head of all your Witches and brings you to have Access to God who makes a Storm and makes a Calm For Lo He that formed the Mountains and created the Winds mark the Winds and declareth unto Man what is his Thoughts this is the Lord that created the Winds not your Witches Anos 4.13 And It is the Lord who layeth the Beams of his Chambers in the Waters who makes the Clouds his Chariots who walketh upon the Wings of the Winds Psalm 104.3 And the Lord commandeth and raiseth up the stormy Wind which lifteth up the Waves thereof and not your Witches nor ill-tongued People And David saith They that go down to the Seain Ships that do business in great Waters these see the Works of the Lord and his Wonders in the Deep For he commandeth and raiseth the stormy Wind which lifteth up the Waves thereof They mount up to the Heaven they go down again to the Depths their Soul is melted because of Trouble They reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man and are at their Wits End then they cry unto the Lord in their Trouble and he bringeth them out of their Distresses He maketh the Storm a Calm so that the Waves thereof are still then are they glad because they be quiet so he bringeth them unto their desired Heaven O that men would praise the Lord for his Goodness and for his Wonderful Works to the Children of Men Psalm 107. So ye may see it is the Lord that commands and raiseth the Winds and the Storms and allayes them again and not the Witches or ill-tongued People and that brings men to their desired Haven both outward and inward And again David saith He to wit the Lord causeth the Vapours to ascend from the Ends of the Earth He maketh Lightnings for the Rain He bringeth the Winds out of his Treasure Psalm 105.7 And now mark all ye Seamen when ye have Wind that maketh a Storm in the Sea the Lord hath brought it out of his Treasure But the disobedient and rebellious against God's Power Spirit and Faith and Enemies to his Truth and People say when a Storm or Wind is raised in the Sea some Witch or some ill-tongued People have raised it and these are erred from the true Faith as David was in who said Whatsoever the Lord pleaseth that does he in Heaven and in the Earth and in the Sea and all deep Places Psalm 105 7. And God causes the Winds to blow and the Waters to flow Psalm 147.18 And David saith Fire and Rain and Snow and Waters and Winds fulfil God's Words Psal 148.8 And now if the Witches raise the Storms and the Winds then the Winds and Storms must fulfil your Witches words and ill-tongued People But the Storms and the Winds fulfil God's Word and he raiseth up a Storm or a Wind that walks upon the Wings of the Wind. And your Witches cannot come into Gods Treasure to fetch his Wind out there for they be out of his power Nay have not some of your Faithless Seamen and you that think so pretended to buy winds Oh Darkness and Ignorance and a Shame to Christianity You are like to the Coluds and Winds without Rain and wells without water and Trees without Fruit as you may see in Prov. 25.14 and in Jude Who hath gathered the Winds in his Fist Who hath bound the Waters in his Garment Who hath established all the Ends of the Earth What is his Name and what is his Son's Name if thou canst tell Prov. 30.4 Who with thy dark Spirit imagines that the Witches can fetch or pluck the Wind out of God's Fist Oh abominable It is much if the Lord doth not let his Wind fly at you and raise a Storm against you who are erred from the Faith of the Holy Men of God For Christ commandeth the Winds and they obey him Luke 8.25 And where do you read in all the Scriptures that the Witches raised Winds or that any Seamen did go to buy Winds of them Let us see the Chapter and verse for it either among the People of God or among the Heathen and if you cannot stop your Mouths of such practises and be ashamed for dishonouring Christianity who are contrary both to the Law and Gospel And turn to the Lord who walks upon the Wings of the Wind and holds the Winds in his Fist and can let them fly out in Blasts to terrifie the wicked but the just live by Faith in God and Christ who is the Author of it who makes the Storm a Calm and commands the winds and brings them out of his Treasure at his Pleasure And the Righteous know that the stormy Winds obey and fulfil God's Word And so the Righteous can praise the Lord that created the Winds and all things in the Heaven and in the Earth and in the Sea and and renews man by Christ into his Image and gives him Dominion over all Praise and Glory Honour and Thanks be unto the Lord who is over all from Everlasting to Everlasting And all the Faithful know that A Sparrow shall not fall to the Ground without the Will of the Father much more a Man who is of greater Value then many Sparrows And therefore be not Faithless but believe in Christ the Light who commands the Winds and Storms by whom all things were made and are upheld by his Word and Power Heb. 1. The Law of thy mouth is better unto me then thousands of Gold and Silver Psa 119.71 G. F. Swarth-Moor in Lancashire the 28th of the 8th Month. 1676. Concerning how the World is called the SEA ANd God will dry up Babylon's Sea and make her Springs dry for God brought them like a Sea over the Jews when they transgress'd his Law and went from the Lord their Rock and Salvation And again it is said The Sea shall come upon Babylon and she shall be covered with the Multitude of her Waves So when the Medes and Persians came upon Babylon then the Sea came over them and the Jews had their Liberty Jer 15.42 So Spiritual Babylon is the Mother of Harlots she sits upon the Waters which are Nations peoples and Tongues But God will dry up her Waters which have overflown since the Apostles Days who hath persecuted the people of