to boast that
they are the Church, which they cannot be without the Word, since it
is begotten only by the Word.

80. We bear a great load of hatred, being accused of having deserted
the ancient Church. The Papists, on the other hand, boast that they
have remained true to the Church, and they want to leave everything to
the judgment of the Church. But we are accused falsely. To speak the
truth, we must say that we departed from the Word when we were still
in their Church and now we have returned to the Word and have ceased
to be apostates from the Word.

81. Therefore though in their judgment they rob us of the title of the
Church, still we retain the Word, and through the Word we have all
ornaments of the true Church. For whoever has the Creator of all, must
needs also possess the creatures themselves. In this sense Noah
remained master of the world, though the waters prevailed, and the
earth perished. Though he lost his property, yet, because he retained
the Word by which everything was created, it may truly be said he
retained everything.

CHAPTER VIII.

I. NOAH'S CONDITION IN THE ARK; THE WATERS ABATE.

A. NOAH'S CONDITION IN THE ARK.

1. How Noah and his family anxiously waited for God's promise,
and lived in faith, which is a hard life 1-3.

2. He had a hard time in the ark. What sustained him 2-4.

3. How he suffered in two ways 5.

* Whether God can forget his saints 6.

* Severest temptations are when man thinks he is forsaken by
God 7.

4. Noah's condition became more miserable because of his
family's distress 8-10.

5. Noah and family with difficulty overcame their temptation 11.

* Christians need steadfastness 12.

* Why God for a time conceals himself from his faithful ones
13.

* Temptations severe when saints imagine God has forsaken them
14.

B. THE WATERS ABATE.

1. The time the waters abated 15.

2. How the wind blew upon the earth and dried it. 16-17.

3. The abating of the waters was a sign by which God comforted
Noah 18.

* Noah's Ark.

a. When it began to float, how long it floated and when it
rested 19.

b. On what mountain did it rest 20.

c. What to think of Josephus' testimony 21.

4. When the mountain tops first seen 22.

5. How Noah learned the deluge