SF tMMMON LW. .. . '133 in wickedness themselves, the more will they hate all appearance of religion inothers ; and they that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall be sure to suffer persecution ; 2 Tim. iii. 12. When thefools have said in their hearts there is no God, they will, eat up his people as they eat bread ; Ps. xiv. 4. All religious dis course shall be banished from conversation, and be put out of countenance with bitter raillery : This indeed is already too fre- quent, and pious conference is almost forbidden amongst us; but if sin further prevail, godliness will be afraid to appear in any of its forms : virtue must hide its head, and religion will be driven into corners. Profaneness has grown so bold these forty years and more, that a saint has been a word of scoff and re- proach ; in due time every thing that looks serious will become a scandal, and if there be any Lots amongst us, their soulswill be vexedwith the impure conversation ofsinners; 2 Pet, ii. 7, 8. A man shall hardly be able toattend upon the public worship of God, but he must receive abuses in his way thither ; the high way of holiness will be unoccupied, the travellers to Zion will be forced to walk in by-paths, and the frequenters of the house . ofGodwill cease in our Israel ; Judges v. 6, 12, 13. but I hope our Deborah is risen, she is risen a mother in Israel, to prevent it; Awake, awake, Barak, arise every son ofcourage and authority, every man of prudence and zeal, arise, and lead this captivity captive; the Lord makeyou to have dominion over those mighty iniquities that woúlddestroy all religion: III. From the discouràgementsthat will attend on the ways of God, a great decay ofpiety will ensue among some of the serious professors of it : Continual molestationwill weary out the spirits of Christians in agreat degree, and because iniquity abounds the love_ofmany will wax cold; Mat. xxiv. 12. , Now whoof us is willing to bear this reflection, a Religion is almost drivenoutof the land, and I have done little to keep it in : Godliness is baf- fled and lost, and I had not courage enough to stand up for God amongst the men of reformation : Amalek has beaten Israel out ofthe field, and I never drew sword against that cursed nation ; or when I had strucka stroke or two I laid down my arms, and suffered. Amalek toprevail.'.'. IV. Itwill be a scandal to our country to suffer sin to grow rampant and sovereign in the midst ofus ; weshall bring a scan- dal upon the gospel that we profess, and a dishonour upon the holy name. ofChristians that we bear : If the sins of heathenism multiply amongst us, we shall be .a reproach to the christian faith. Have we no tenderness for the name of Christ ? Shall we permit him to be accounted a minister of sin, by suffering the works ofthe devil, which he destroyed, to be built up again by bold transgressors.? Bold RICH indeed,'that sin against the light
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