thy neighbour. There is but one church; that is true, but one; but that one church cannot be in any one man; there is but one baptism; that is also true, but one; but no man can baptize himself; there must be sacerdos et competens, (as our old canons speak) a person to receive, and a priest to give baptism. There

is but one faith in the remission of sins; that is true too, but one; but no man can absolve himself; there must be a priest and a penitent. God calls no man so, but that he calls him to the knowledge, that he hath called more than him to that church, or else it is an illusory, and imaginary calling, and a dream.

Take heed therefore of being seduced to that church that is in one man; in scrinio pectoris, where all infallibility, and assured resolution is in the breast of one man; who (as their own authors say) is not bound to ask the counsel of others before, nor to follow their counsel after. And since the church cannot be in one, in an unity, take heed of bringing it too near that unity, to a paucity, to a few, to a separation, to a conventicle. The church loves the name of Catholic; and it is a glorious, and an harmonious name; love thou those things wherein she is Catholic, and wherein she is harmonious, that is, Quod ubique, quod semper, Those universal, and fundamental doctrines, which in all Christian ages, and in all Christian churches, have been agreed by all to be necessary to salvation; and then thou art a true Catholic. Otherwise, that is, without relation to this Catholic and universal doctrine, to call a particular church Catholic, (that she should be Catholic, that is, universal in dominion, but not in doctrine) is such a solecism, as to speak of a white blackness, or a great littleness; a particular church to be universal, implies such a contradiction.

Christ loves not singularity; he called not one alone; he loves not schism neither between them whom he calls; and therefore he calls persons likely to agree, two brethren, (He saw two brethren, Peter and Andrew, &c.) So he began to build the synagogues, to establish that first government, in Moses and Aaron, brethren; so he begins to build the church, in Peter and Andrew, brethren. The principal fraternity and brotherhood that God respects, is spiritual; brethren in the profession of the same true religion. But Peter and Andrew whom he called here to the

VOL. III.

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true religion, and so gave them that second fraternity and brotherhood, which is spiritual, were natural brethren before; and that God loves; that a natural, a secular, a civil fraternity, and a spiritual fraternity should be joined together; when those that profess the same religion, should desire to contract their alliances, in marrying their children, and to have their other dealings in the world (as much as they can) with men that profess the same true religion that they do. That so (not meddling nor disputing the proceedings of states, who, in some cases, go by other rules than private men do) we do not make it an equal, an indifferent thing, whether we marry ourselves, or our children, or make our bargains, or our conversation, with persons of a different religion, when as our adversaries amongst us will not go to a lawyer, nor call a physician, no, nor scarce a tailor, or other tradesman of another religion than their own, if they can possibly avoid it. God saw a better likelihood of avoiding schism and dissension, when those whom he called to a new spiritual brotherhood in one religion, were natural brothers too, and tied in civil bands, as well as spiritual.

And as Christ began, so he proceeded; for the persons whom he called were catechistical, instructive persons; persons, from whose very persons we receive instruction. The next whom he called, (which is in the next verse) were two too: and brethren too; John and James; but yet his own kinsmen in the flesh. But, as he chose two together to avoid singularity, and two brethren to avoid schism, so he preferred two strangers before his own kindred, to avoid partiality, and respect of persons. Certainly every man is bound to do good to those that are near him by nature; the obligation of doing good to others lies (for the most part) thus; Let us do good to all men, but especially unto them which are of the household of the faithful"; (they of our own religion are of the quorum) now, when all are so, (of the household of the faithful, of our own religion) the obligation looks home, and lies thus, He that provideth not for his own, denieth the faith, and is worse than an infidel. Christ would therefore leave no example, nor justification of that perverse distemper, to leave his kindred out, nor of their disposition, who had rather buy new

friends at any rate, than relieve or cherish the old. But yet when Christ knew how far his stock would reach, that no liberality, howsoever placed, could exhaust that, but that he was able to provide for all, he would leave no example nor justification of that perverse distemper, to heap up preferments upon our own kindred, without any consideration how God's glory might be more advanced by doing good to others too; but finding in these men a fit disposition to be good labourers in his harvest, and to agree in the service of the church, as they did in the band of nature, he calls Peter and Andrew, otherwise strangers, before he called his cousins, James and John.

These circumstances we proposed to be considered in these persons before, and at their being called. The first, after their calling, is their cheerful readiness in obeying, Continuo sequuti, they were bid follow, and forthwith they followed. Which present obedience of theirs is exalted in this, that this was freshly upon the imprisonment of John Baptist, whose disciple Andrew had been; and it might easily have deterred, and averted a man in his case, to consider, that it was well for him that he was got out of John Baptist's school, and company, before that storm, the displeasure of the state fell upon him; and that it behoved him to be wary to apply himself to any such new master, as might draw him into as much trouble; which Christ's service was very like to do. But the contemplation of future persecutions, that may fall, the example of persecutions past, that have fallen, the apprehension of imminent persecutions, that are now falling, the sense of present persecutions, that are now upon us, retard not those, upon whom the love of Christ Jesus works effectually; they followed for all that. And they followed, when there was no more persuasion used to them, no more words said to them, but Sequere me, follow me.

And therefore how easy soever Julian the apostate might make it, for Christ to work upon so weak men, as these were, yet to work upon any men by so weak means, only by one Sequere me, follow me, and no more, cannot be thought easy. The way of rhetoric in working upon weak men, is first to trouble the understanding, to displace, and discompose, and disorder the judgment, to smother and bury in it, or to empty it of former apprehensions

and opinions, and to shake that belief, with which it had possessed itself before, and then when it is thus melted, to pour it into new moulds, when it is thus mollified, to stamp and imprint new forms, new images, new opinions in it. But here in our case, there was none of this fire, none of this practice, none of this battery of eloquence, none of this verbal violence, only a bare Sequere me, follow me, and they followed. No eloquence inclined them, no terrors declined them: no dangers withdrew them, no preferment drew them; they knew Christ, and his kindred, and his means; they loved him himself, and not anything they expected from him. Minus te amat, qui aliquid tuum amat, quod non propter te amat, that man loves thee but a little, that begins his love at that which thou hast, and not at thyself. It is a weak love that is divided between Christ and the world; especially, if God come after the world, as many times he does, even in them, who think they love him well; that first they love the riches of this world, and then they love God that gave them. But that is a false method in this art of love; the true is, radically to love God for himself, and other things, for his sake, so far, as he may receive glory in our having, and using them.

This Peter and Andrew declared abundantly; they did as much as they were bid; they were bid follow, and they followed; but it seems they did more, they were not bid leave their nets, and yet they left their nets, and followed him: but, for this, they did not; no man can do more in the service of God, than is enjoined him, commanded him. There is no supererogation, no making of God beholden to us, no bringing of God into our debt. Every man is commanded to love God with all his heart, and all his power, and a heart above a whole heart, and a power above a whole power, is a strange extension. That therefore which was declared explicitly, plainly, directly by Christ, to the young man in the gospel, Vade, et vende, et sequere, go and sell all, and follow me", was implicitly implied to these men in our text, leave your nets, and follow me. And, though to do so, (to leave all) be not always a precept, a commandment to all men, yet it was a precept, a commandment to both these, at that time; to the young man in the gospel, (for he was as expressly bid to sell away all, as

he was to follow Christ) and to these men in the text, because they could not perform that that was directly commanded, except they performed that which was implied too; except they left their nets, they could not follow Christ. When God commands us to follow him, he gives us light, how, and in which way he will be followed; and then when we understand which is his way, that way is as much a commandment, as the very end itself, and not to follow him that way, is as much a transgression, as not to follow him at all. If that young man in the gospel, who was bid sell all, and give to the poor, and then follow, had followed, but kept his interest in his land; if he had divested himself of the land, but let it fall, or conveyed it to the next heir, or other kinsmen; if he had employed it to pious uses, but not so, as Christ commanded, to the poor, still he had been in a transgression the way when it is declared, is as much a command, as the end.

But then, in this command, which was implicitly, and by necessary consequence laid upon Peter and Andrew, to leave their nets, (because without doing so, they could not forthwith follow Christ) there is no example of forsaking a calling, upon pretence of following Christ; no example here, of divesting one's self of all means of defending us from those manifold necessities, which this life lays upon us, upon pretence of following Christ; it is not an absolute leaving of all worldly cares, but a leaving them out of the first consideration; Primum quærite regnum Dei, so, as our first business be to seek the kingdom of God. For, after this leaving of his nets, for this time, Peter continued owner of his house, and Christ came to that house of his, and found his mother-in-law sick in that house, and recovered here there. Upon a like commandment, upon such a Sequere, follow me, Matthew followed Christ too; but after that following, Christ went with Matthew to his house, and sat at meat with him at home. And for this very exercise of fishing, though at that time when Christ said, follow me, they left their nets, yet they returned to that trade, sometimes, upon occasions, in all likelihood, in Christ's life; and after Christ's death, clearly they did

25 Matt. viii. 14.

26 Matt. ix. 9.