Prototypes, or, The primary precedent presidents out of the book of Genesis showing, the…Prototypes, or, The primarie precedent presidents out of the booke of Genesis shewing, the…

And now cease to imitate this world of ungodly men, but apply your selves to fly from the wrath to come and from the vengeance that must overtake all wilful sinners. I beseech you lay to heart the things you hear, take notice of them, believe them, and set your selves to amend your lives and cast away all your sins, which this old World did not but should have done: be better I say be better then they were, and let their wickedness teach you some goodness. When will it once be that you will know and believe the threats of God and his promises? when will it once be that you will submit your selves to those that are as Noah was, Preachers of righteousness, and seek to get the righteousness of faith, which Noah would not have gotten himself, if it had not been the same that he preached to others? Now I pray you at last to exceed this generation of wicked men. And these uses you must make of their wickedness.

And now cease to imitate this world of ungodly men, but apply your selves to flie from the wrath to come and from the vengeance that must overtake all wilfull sinners. I beseech you lay to heart the things you heare, take notice of them, beleeve them, and set your selves to amend your lives and cast away all your sinnes, which this old World did not but should have done: be better I say be better then they were, and let their wickednesse teach you some goodnesse. When will it once be that you will know and beleeve the threats of God and his promises? when will it once be that you will submit your selves to those that are as Noah was, Preachers of righteousnesse, and seeke to get the righteousnesse of faith, which Noah would not have gotten himselfe, if it had not beene the same that hee preached to others? Now I pray you at last to exceede this generation of wicked men. And these uses you must make of their wickednesse.

Now of Gods patience towards them in giving them all outward prosperity and long deferring the execution of his wrath, and sending Noah by preaching and building the Ark to draw them to repentance; learn first to praise God for the like long-suffering to us, and using the like means to bring us to repentance and to life eternal. It is the same God that ruled the world at those times who ruleth us also at this time, and he discovers the same virtues in his governing. O how patient is God now also? how great care doth he take to lead us to repentance also? How many outward benefits have we? This goodness of God towards them that perish, whereby he took such order and care for them, that they might have escaped perdition if they would have made use of his means is not sufficiently heeded nor observed. Might not the world then have escaped both drowning and hell too, if they would have hearkened to Noah and believed him, and followed his instructions. Did any thing but their own wilfulness and heedlessness shut them out of the Ark and out of Heaven, and thrust them down into the Deluge and into Hell? Brethren, God magnifies his mercies to the vessels of wrath, he doth labour to bring them out of their ill estate, he hath not ceased for many years to entice them to repentance by his long-suffering. Certainly this should magnify Gods goodness to us and make us to applaud him exceedingly, and acknowledge the brightness of his Justice in their future destruction. O how just was God in the drowning of these men? is he not as just in the damning of the sinner now? Lord be thou praised for thy mercy and for thy justice, and let the one serve to clear the other, and both to commend thee.