General Directions for a Comfortable Walking with God

p. 1SOME GENERALL DIRECTIONS FOR A COMFORTABLE WALking with God.

8.But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

9.These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a iust man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

IN this dreadfull and dismall story of the old Worlds degeneration and destruction, falling away, and final ruine, here stands in my Text a right orient and illustrious Starre, shining full faire with [Cogita hîc obsecro, quantae virtutis fuerit ille iustus, quomodo in tantâ multitudine, quae multo impetu in malum tuebat, solus ipse diuersâ ambulauit viâ, virtutem malitiae praeferens. Neque enim aliorum consensus, & tanta frequentia reddebat eum segniorem ad virtutis iter: sed iam priùs implebat, quod beatus Moses olim dicturus erat: Ne sis cum multis in malitiâ. Et quod magis admirabile, multos habebat, imò omnes, qui ad malum, & ad praua opera inhortabantur, & nullus erat, qui ad bonū induceret, Chrys. Hom. 22. in c. 6. Gen.] singularitie of heauenly light, spiritual goodnes, and Gods sincerer seruice, in the darkest midnight of Satans vniuersall raigne, and amidst the horriblest hell of the strangest confusions, idolatrous corruptions, cruelties, [Feruente impietate contra primam tabulam, secuta est corruptio, de quâ Moses in hoc cap. quod se primùm polluerunt libidinibus, deinde orbem terrarū repleuerunt tyrannide, sanguine, & iniurijs. Lu •… .] oppressions and lust, that euer the earth bore. Noah I meane, a very precious Man, and Preacher of Righteousnesse, to whose Family alone, the true worship of God was p. 2confinde, when all the world besides lay drowned in Idolatrie and Paganisme, ready to bee swallowed vp into an vniuersall graue of Waters, which was already fashioned in the clouds by the angry, vnresistable hand of the all-powerfull God, who was now so implacably, but most iustly prouoked by those rebellious and cruell generations, that Hee would not suffer His Spirit to striue any more with them; but inexorably resolued to open the windowes or floudgates of heauen, giuing extraordinarie strength of influence to the Stars, abundance to the Fountaines of the great deepe, commanding them to cast out the whole treasure, and heape of their waters; & taking away the retentiue power from the clouds, that they might powre downe immeasurably; for the burying of all liuing creatures which breathed in the ayre: Noah and his family excepted. From whence by the way, before I breake into my text, take this Note.

p. 2Doctr. The seruants of God are men of singularitie: I meane it not in respect of any fantasticalnesse of opinion, furiousnesse of zeale, or turbulencie of faction, truely so called: but in respect of abstinence from sinne, puritie of heart, and holinesse of life.

Reasons: 1. Gods holy Word exacts and expects from all that are new-borne, and heires of Heauen, an excellency aboue [Quàm multos Philosophorum & audiuimus, & legimus, & ipsi vidimus castos, patientes, modestos, liberales, abs •… inentes, benignos, & honores mundi simul & delicias respuentes, & amatores •… ustitiae, non minus quàm scientiae! - Quod si etiam sine Deo homines ostendunt quales à Deo facti sunt: vide quid Christiani facere possunt, quorum in melius per Christum natura & vita instructa est, & qui diuinae que que gratiae iuuantur auxilio▪ August. Epist. 142.] ordinary, Pro. 12. 26. Matth. 5. 20. & 47. Being taken forth as the precious from the vile, Ierem. 15. 19. by the power of the Ministerie, they must not onely goe beyond the hiest [Quae non tormenta patiemur, qui eum iubeamur iustici •… superare Ph •… risaos. Gentilibus quoque inferiores iaceamus? Quemadmodum igitur, responde quaeso, videbimus regnum futurum? Chrysost. Hom. 18. in cap. 5. Matth. As for those vertues that belong vnto morall righteousnesse, and honesty of life, we d •… c not mention them, because they are not proper vnto Christian m •… n, as they are Christian, but doe concerne them 〈◊〉 me •… , Hooket lib. 3. of Ecclesiast. Politie.] ciuill perfections of the exactest morall Puritane amongst the most honest Heathens, Heb. 12. 14. but also exceed the righteousnesse, and all the outward religious conformities of the deuoutest Pharises, whose sufficiencies, Luk. 18. 11, 12. many thousands in these times come short of, and yet hope to be saued: or they can in no case enter into the Kingdome of p. 3Heauen. But lest any bee proudly puft vp with sence of this singularitie, and excellencie aboue his neighbour; let him know, that humilitie is euer one of the fairest flowers in the whole garland of his supernaturall and diuine worth; and that selfe-conceitednesse would impoyson euen Angelicall perfection.

p. 32. They must vpon necessitie differ from a world of wicked men; by a sincere singularitie of abstinence from the [Ephes. 2. 2.] course of this world; the [1. Pet. 4. 2.] lusts of men; the [Rom. 12. 2.] corruptions of the times; [Prou. 4. 14, 15. Ephes. 5. 11.] familiaritie with gracelesse companions; the [Coloss. 4. 6. Sicut qui Diabolum sequitur, Sanctorum collegium affectu, & opere aspernatur: ita qui Deo perfectè adhaeserit, impiorum consortium nequaquam admittit. Gregor. in Psal. 6.] worldlings language, prophane sports; all wicked wayes of thriuing, rising, and growing great in the world, &c.

3. They make conscience of those duties and diuine commands, which the greatest part of men, euen in the noonetide of the Gospell, are so farre from taking to heart, that their hearts rise against them. As, to bee hot in Religion, Reu. 3. 16. To be zealous of good workes, Tit. 2. 14. To walke [〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉] precisely, Ephes. 5. 15. To bee feruent in spirit, Rom. 12. 11. To striue to enter in at the straite gate, Luke 13. 24. To plucke out their right eyes; that is, to abandon their bosome delights, Matth. 5. 29. To make the Sabbath a delight, Isa. 58. 13. To loue the Brotherhood, 1. Pet. 2. 17. With an holy violence, to lay hold vpon the Kingdome of Heauen, Matth. 11. 12.

4. Experience, and examples of all ages, from the creation downeward clearely prooue the point. At this time, as you see, the Saints of God were all harboured vnder one roofe, and yet not all sound there. …