296 Walking with Wife Men, S E R M, aft-EC-lion to be in a world of the ungodly, XII. when a mighty torrent of iniquity and pro- fanefs brought on a flood of waters which overthrew their foundation as it is expreffed in the book of yob ; and juft Lot lived in Sodom, where his righteous foul was vexed in feeing and hearing every day, the filthy con", verfation of the wicked. Surely it was not imputed to thefe excellent perfons as a fault that they did not walk with wife men, when there were no wife men for them to walk with ; and fo far from being the guilty corn, panions of fools, who should perifh with them in one common deftruétion, God marked them out to a peculiar falvation and having made their hearty but ineffectual remonftrances againft the prevailing wicked- nefs of the tunes and places they lived in, they were preferved from the ruin which came like a whirlwind on finners by an ex- traordinary divine interpofition. Again, fometimes the belt men converfe familiarly with the wicked, and it is ne- çeffary for them to do fo, yet without a. participation in their crimes. On the con- trary, it is their deign and affiduous endear your to convince the unrighteous of their errors, and reclaim them from their follies. Thus our Saviour converfed with publicans and
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