SEAM. XX.} TRUTH, SINCERITY, &C. $45 change : There luxury and riot, there fury and passion reign in every room, their dwelling is without God, with- out prayer, without piety or peace, arid has more of hell than of heaven in it.' O my soul, come not into their secret, to their family, my honour, be not thou united ! for truth and goodness are far from them. 4. The true christian is the same in all companies: And though he does not think himselfobliged to cast his pearls before swine, to give that which is holy to dogs, or to impose a discourse of religion upon those that hate it ; yet he never forgets his religion in the worst of com- pany, nor does he throw off the christian in the midst of heathens. The general course of his life shines in the beauty of holiness, and glorifies his God in an impious world. And there are seasons too, when he sees it ne- cessary to rebuke public iniquity, and bear a testimony against a vicious age : He has never any fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather he reproves them, Eph. v. 11. Yet sometimes his prudence directs his Christianity to lie concealed, but he never dares do any thing that contradicts it. It is like a garment that he ever wears about him, though he does, not always wear it uppermost : He keeps it ever as his guard, though he does not always expose his glory. What a scandal is it to any person who professes the name of Christ, that he can sometimes lay aside all his Christianity, and bury it in an hour of riot ! That he can drink till midnight when he gets amongdrunkards, and take his cup as merrily and as often as they ! That he can relish a lewd or profane jest, and make one too, when he sits in the company of lewd or profane jesters ! That he can lisp out an oath, and stammer at a curse, or perhaps he can swear roundly when he is in the midst of swearing wretches ! And yet he can pray and talk de-_ voutly when he falls into religious company, and pretend to tremble at the profaneness of the age. What shameful hypocrisy and falsehood is this ! There are some persons who have appeared in the country to be professors of religion, and perhaps may have obtained a name of piety; but when they come up to the city among loose libertines, where their vices are better hid, they give themselves up to loose practices, Ind indulge a licentious month or twpo. They are pious
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