you and behold you with love; the LORD will be mindful of you in due time, and speak peace to your troubled foul, though the fea of troubles is beating over you, though the Pharisees of this day are fcoffing at you, yet, when CHRIST rebukes, then they fhall ceafe.

Do not depend on yourfelf: fay unto him, "Save us, LORD, or we perifh :" befeech him to be your guide, and your falvation: I beseech you, by the tender mercies of GOD, which are in CHRIST JESUS, that you prefent yourselves to him, as your reasonable service.

Awake, you that fleep, and arife from the dead, from the death of fin, and CHRIST then will give you the light of his righteousness. Come to CHRIST and you fhall be welcome; O come unto this bleffed JESUS, come notwithstanding your vileness; for if you come not you will perish: If CHRIST does not fave you, your own good meaning, your own good intentions cannot; no, as you are in your blood, so you must perish in your blood; but if you come to CHRIST you will find mercy, you shall not perish. You cannot find salvation in any other but in CHRIST; if the difciples could have faved themselves, they would not have awoken JESUS CHRIST; but they were fenfible that no one could fave them but him; and therefore they cried out unto him; and fo you, who are under the fenfe of fin, who are in fear of hell, if you feek unto your own works, you only feek your own death; for there is no fitnefs in you. I fpeak the truth in CHRIST JESUS, I lie not, there is no fitnefs in you, but a fitnefs for eternal damnation; for what are you by nature, but children of wrath, and your hearts are Satan's garrifon. Because you have gone to church, faid the prayers, gone to the facrament, and done no one any harm, you speak peace to your fouls; and all is in peace you think, and your cafe is good enough; but indeed, all is a falfe peace, and if you have no other peace than this, you must shortly lie down in everlasting flames; this is an ungrounded, felf-created peace, and if you trust to this peace you will perish.

But do as the difciples did when they were in distress; they go to CHRIST and fay to him, "LORD, fave us, we perish." I offer you falvation this day; the door of mercy is not yet shut, there does yet remain a facrifice for fin, for all

X 3

that

that will accept of the LORD JESUS CHRIST; he only knows the inmost thoughts of thy heart, he will embrace you in the arms of his love; he fees the firft rifings of grace in you, and would willingly encourage it: the angels long for your being in the love and favour of Gop; they will rejoice to fee you turn from fin unto him. All the minifters of the blessed JESUS would be glad to be inftruments to turn you from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto Gop.

And be faith to them, why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? And fo, my brethren, I may fay to you; why are you fearful to leave your fins and turn to GOD? O turn to him, turn in a sense of your own unworthiness; tell him how polluted you are, how vile, and be not faithlefs, but believe; do not go in your own ftrength, and then you need not fear, Why fear ye that the LORD JESUS CHRIST will not accept of you? your fins will be no hindrance, your unworthiness will be no hindrance; if your own corrupt hearts do not keep you back, or if your own good works do not hinder you from coming, nothing will hinder CHRIST from receiving of you; he loves to fee poor finners coming to him, he is pleased to see them lie at his feet pleading his promifes: and if you thus come to CHRIST, he will not fend you away without his Spirit; no, but will receive and bless you.

O do not put a flight on infinite love: what would you have CHRIST do more? Is it not enough for him to come on purpose to save? Will you not ferve GOD in your souls, as well as with your bodies? If not, you are only deceiving yourselves, and mocking of GOD; he must have the heart, Oye of little faith, why are ye fearful left he should not accept of you? If you will not believe me, fure you will believe the LORD JESUS CHRIST; he has told thee that he will receive you then why tarry ye, and do not go to him directly? Does he defire impoffibilities? It is only, "Give me thy heart" or, does he want your heart only for the fame end as the devil does, to make you miferable? no, he only wants you to believe on him, that you might be faved. This, this, 'is all the dear Saviour defires, to make you happy, that you may leave your fins, to fit down eternally with him, at the marriage fupper of the Lamb.

Then

Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the fea, and there was a great calm.

Thus, you fee, it was only in the power of CHRIST to ftop the raging of the fea; he rebuked it: the difciples might have fpoken for ever, and it would not have ceased: fo it is with the word preached; I may preach to you while I live; I may speak till I can fpeak no more; but the doctrines of CHRIST will never do you good, unless he imprefs them upon your hearts: O then, in all thy troubles look up to CHRIST, that he may rebuke them; and if he speaks the word, then they fhall cease. If the Pharifees of this generation scoff and jeer you, if they fay all manner of evil against you, do not answer them; leave it unto CHRIST to rebuke them; for allyou can fay will be of no more fignification, than the dif ciples fpeaking to the fea; but when CHRIST speaks the word, then they fhall ceafe; let it not difcourage you, for if you will live godly in CHRIST JESUS, you must fuffer perfecution.

It is true, that those who are fincerely good, are set up for marks for every one to fhoot at. There is a continual enmity between the feed of the woman and the feed of the ferpent; if you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because CHRIST hath chofen you out of the world, therefore it hateth you.

Do not think of following CHRIST into glory, unless you go through the prefs here. Look forward, my brethren, into eternity, and behold CHRIST coming, and his reward with him, to give a kind recompence for all the temptations and difficulties of this present life.

But the men marvelled, faying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the feas obey him!

The men of the ship were amazed to fee the miracle that JESUS CHRIST Wrought only by his word; they thought he was fomething more than a man. And have not we as much reason to admire, that when we are overwhelmed with troubles, from within and without, that JESUS CHRIST, only by the word of his power, should speak peace, and then there is peace indeed. When God first awakens us with a fenfe of fin, and fets his terrors in array against us, then there are troubles, and tempefts; for Satan having got poffeffion, X 4 before

before he will give place, he will fight and frive hard to keep the foul from clofing with JESUS: But when CHRIST comes, he ftorms the heart, he breaks the peace, he giveth it moft terrible alarms of judgment and hell, he fets all in a combuftion of fear and forrow, 'till he hath forced it to yield to his mere mercy, and take him for its governor; then Satan is caft out; then the ftorm is rebuked, and he establishes a firm and lafting peace.

. Can the fea be ftill while the wind is raging? no, it is impoffible fo it is that there can be no peace in the foul, while it is at enmity with CHRIST; indeed, it may flatter itself and speak peace, but there can be no true peace: tho' thou, O Pharifee, may harden and fortify thy heart against fear, grief, and trouble, yet, as fure as GOD is true, they will batter down thy proud and fortified spirit, and seize upon it, and drive thee to amazement. This will be done here, or hereafter; here in mercy, or hereafter in wrath and judg

ment.

O my brethren, confider what CHRIST hath done, and you will be aftonished that he has done fo much for fuch wicked wretches as you and I are. If you are easy under the ftorm and tempeft of fin, and do not cry to CHRIST for falvation, thou art in a dangerous condition and it is a wonder to confider, how a man that is not fure of having made his peace with God, can eat, or drink, or live in peace; that thou art not afraid, when thou lieft down, that thou fhould'ft awake in hell: but if CHRIST fpeak peace unto thy foul, who can then speak trouble? None; no, not men or devils: Therefore, lie down at the feet of CHRIST whom you have refifted, and fay, LORD, what wouldst thou have me to do? and he will rebuke the winds and feas of thy troubled mind, and all things will be calm.

And when he was come to the other fide into the country of the Gergefenes, there met him two poffeffed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, fo that no man might pass by that

way.

The LORD JESUS CHRIST, who went about doing good continually, very well knew, that he should meet two poor men in this country of the Gergefenes, who were poffeffed with

devils;

devils; and JESUS CHRIST went on purpose that way, that he might relieve them. The devil, where he has the power, never wants will: but as I faid before, fo I fay again, though the devil is an enemy, yet he is a chained one; he could not destroy these two poor men, he could not hurt the people that paffed that way, he could only terrify them: and thus it is with you; the devil tries his utmost skill and power to frighten you from coming to the LORD JESUS CHRIST; he ufes the utmoft of his endeavours to keep poor fick and weary finners from coming to JESUS; if he can but make you lose your fouls, it is the end he aims at.

And how many fouls does he keep from CHRIST, for fear of reproach? Many thoufands would willingly fee CHRIST in his glory, in the world to come, and would be happy with him there, but they are afraid of being now laughed at, and of hearing the pharifees fay, here is another of his followers: they are afraid of lofing their worldly business, or of being counted methodistically mad and fit for bedlam. I doubt not but many are kept from JESUS CHRIST, for fear of a little hurt or inconveniency.

What will fuch fay, when the LORD JESUS CHRIST fhall appear in his glory? Would you be glad to be confeffed by him then, you must now not be afhamed of confeffing him before men: let not the fierceness of the devil keep you back from CHRIST, for fear of being counted fools; for the time will come, when it will be found who are truly wise, and who are truly mad..

Are you afraid to ftand up for the cause of CHRIST in the world? Dare not you be fingularly good? Are you afraid of being members of JESUS CHRIST? I tell you, fuch perfons would crucify him afresh were he in the world. But do not you, my brethren, fo learn CHRIST; let not the temptations of the devil keep you from coming to the LORD JESUS CHRIST; he may be fierce, he may hurry you from place to place, but ftrive with him, fo that he may not drive you from CHRIST; and if you feek unto CHRIST, he will fo help you that you fhall refift the devil, and then he will fly from you; CHRIST will difpoffels him, be not afraid therefore to meet JESUS CHRIST; tell him all that your fouls want,

and