The Life and Death of Mr. Badman

Atten. You have said the truth, for God by such a Judgment as this, in effect says so indeed; for he takes them out of the hand of the just, and binds them up in the hand of the wicked, and whither they then shall be carried, a man may easily imagine.

Atten. You have said the truth, for God by such a Judgment as this, in effect says so indeed; for he takes them out of the hand of the just, and binds them up in the hand of the wicked, and whither they then shall be carried, a man may easily imagin.

Wise. It is one of the saddest tokens of Gods anger that happens to¹ such kind of persons: And that for several reasons. 1. Such an one, by this Judgment, is put out out of the way, and from under the means which ordinarily are made use of to do good to the soul.² For a Family where Godliness is professed, and practised, is ⟨p. 99⟩Gods Ordinance, the place which he has appointed to teach young ones the way and fear of God. Now to be put out of such a Family into a bad, a wicked one, as Mr. Badman was, must needs be in Judgment, and a sign of the anger of God. For in ungodly Families men learn to forget God, to hate goodness, and to estrange themselves from the ways of those that are good. 2. In Bad Families, they have continually fresh Examples, and also incitements to evil, and fresh encouragements to it too. Yea moreover, in such places evil is commended, praised, well-spoken of, and they that do it, are applauded; and this, to be sure, is a drowning Judgement. 3. Such places are the very haunts and Walks of the infernal Spirits, who are continually poisoning the Cogitations and Minds of one or other in such Families, that they may be able to poison others. Therefore observe it, usually in wicked Families, some one, or two, are more arch for wickedness then are any other that are there. Now such ⟨p. 100⟩