Judges 18

REFLECTIONS UPON CHAP. XVIII.—Outward struts will push men to great diligence for obtaining the comforts of this life; and often they go far to seek that which, by attending to God’s direction, they might have had near home. Very often such are permitted of God to fall into ruinous snares; and, however earnestly they shun outward wants or hazards, they rush headlong into the most sinful temptations. When men are ignorant or negligent of consulting God and his word, they readily apply to the devil for direction and encouragement; and receive answers to their wish. But accomplices in wickedness ordinarily prove unfaithful to one another. And none is more apt to be treacherous than a clergyman who is ambitious of preferment, and chiefly concerned for his honour and his salary. Deplorable is the case of those who have gods which can be taken from them, and hearts which cannot part with them, though they be the means of their ruin. But hard is their state when men dare not complain of injustice or robbery without risking their life; and unhappy is the condition of those who are destitute of proper government, especially if they are also plunged into carelessness and carnal security: for prosperity in an evil way encourages men to persevere in it. And the most sinful customs, when once they are established, are the most permanent: it is far easier to keep them out than to root them out