When these are opposed-and they often are opposed to the commands of God, they cleave to their worldly maxims, and disobey God. But those, who would be Christians indeed, must shew, in such cases especially, that they are in earnest, as the servants of God. When the conduct and the maxims which are in vogue are opposed to the commands of God, they must stand forth on the Lord's side-they must obey God rather than man. These are the cases in which the hollowness of worldly men's principles most appears, and in which the soundness of theirs should be made manifest. They must not say, Other people do so and so ; and therefore we must, though we know it is not right.' They must not say, We shall lose this or that worldly advantage, this present gratification, or that future honour or emolument; and therefore we will put our own interpretation on the command, as we see other persons do.' They must not say, 'We cannot bear to be laughed at, and called singular or precise.' In short, they must not "follow a multitude to do evil*;" but must resolve, when the multitude, or when persons of their own

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* Ex. xxiii. 2.

state and condition, will disobey God, to swim, as it were, against the stream, and to give up every thing that it may be necessary to part with, in order to maintain such a struggle with effect. Now, to do this, it may be necessary to avoid, not only the spirit and conduct, but the society, of those who do not serve God; so far, at least, as not to seek it, or needlessly to expose yourselves to it. It would be difficult, probably impossible, to lay down any rules on this head, which should serve as an unerring directory. What the word of God has not done, it would not be wise in us to attempt to do. But, in general, it be said, that the command to come out, and be separate," cannot be supposed to mean less, than that all intimate connexion with the wicked, and those who practically forget God, are to be shunned; because, without thus shunning them, it is next to impossible to keep clear of their sinful practices, and, especially, of their spirit. The prudence with which men act, where their lives or worldly interests are concerned, shews how those, who are sincere in their devotedness to God, should act, even if there were no such precept as

may

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that contained in the text. A man swimming, who knew that a particular current would bear him, and all who yielded themselves to its influence, to certain destruction, would not choose to join hands with those who were determinately or carelessly going with that current. He would wish to be disencumbered, to have his arms at liberty: he would feel this to be necessary, and would therefore need no reasoning to, convince him of its expediency. So the Christian, who sees many around him rushing thoughtlessly or wilfully to eternal death, feels that the very life of his soul is concerned in keeping aloof from them. He dares not join himself to their company, unless it be in the hope that he may thereby prevail with some of them to join him in his endeavours to escape from the stream of pollution. But when he finds that they are drawing him back, or retarding his course, he must be gone. He owes this to himself;-he

owes it to them: for that man is no true friend to his fellow-creatures, who encourages them by his concurrence or his countenance, or who does not endeavour to dissuade them, both by precept and example, when they are resisting the will of God.

A regard, therefore, to his own true interest, and to theirs, rightly understood, would incline him to do that which the word of God enjoins; namely, to avoid all unnecessary and intimate connexion with those who do not fear God: and, when he goes amongst them in the discharge of his duty, he should observe the same sort of watchfulness and circumspection which are used by those whose duty calls them to visit places supposed to be infected, and should stay no longer than his business requires. Surely the very best have need to be watchful and circumspect; for what are they, except so far as they are upheld by the influence of God's Holy Spirit? The very best carry about with them, hearts, which, left to themselves, would betray them to the very first temptation. To go heedlessly into the society of the wicked, is like taking tinder into the midst of flying sparks. It is not the conduct of a person who wishes to be kept from sin, but rather of one who is seeking for opportunities of sinning. I might confidently appeal to the experience of those who have tried to live the life of a Christian, whether they have found that they could come away without injury

from ungodly society, into which they had ventured without any call of duty. No; they have either fallen into sin, or they have found that the Spirit of God would not continue with them in such places and companies. They have been weak and cowardly, when they should have been bold for God they have commended, or hypocritically smiled upon, what they knew was wrong: they have joined in the censure of what they knew was right: their good resolutions have been overcome: their desires of conformity to the will of God have been weakened: they have yielded to the opposite desire of being more like the men whose principles their conscience condemns: they have brought away minds more indisposed to the service of God and to the means of grace: they have become double-minded, and therefore, necessarily, unstable, and unfitted for encountering any violent temptation ;-like a man thrown off his balance, and so at the mercy of a breath of wind.

Very different is the case of that man, who, from love to God and to the souls of men, goes among persons whose views and feelings and practices are