The Drunkards Character, Section 107
§ 107.
AWicked man can agree with all that are wicked, They can brooke all conditions of men, …ave practisers of piety.be they Papists, or Turks, or Athiests, prophane and loose persons, for all these agree with him in blindnesse and darknesse, yea, they are all, haile fellow well met; but with sincere Christians, and practisers of piety, he cannot agree; the Religious shall be sure of opposition; because their light is contrary to his darknesse; grace in the one, is a secret disgrace to the other.
Yea, let wicked men bee at never so much odds one with another,But the Religious shall be sure of opposition. yet they wil concurre and joyne against the godly. As for example. Edom and Ishmael, Moab and the Hagarins, Gebal and Ammon, Amal…ck and the Philistims, the men of Tyre and Ash…r, each had severall gods; yet all conspire against the true God, Psalm. 83. 5. to 9. Manasses against Ephraim, and Ephraim against Manasses; but both against Iudah. Herod and Pilat (two enemies) will agree, so it bee against Christ; they will fall in one with another, to fall out with God. The Sadduces, Pharisies, and Herodians were Sectaries of diverse and adverse factions, all differing one from another; and yet all these joyne together against our Saviour, Matth. 22. the Libertines, Cyrenians, Alexandrians, Cilicians, and Asians, differ they never so much, will joyne in dispute against Steven, Act 6. 9. Herod neither loved the Iews, nor the Iewes Herod; yet both are agreed to vex the Church.
Thus wicked men, like Sampsons Foxes, though they be tyed taile to taile, yet they joyntly set on fire and burn up the Barley field of Gods Church.
I cannot think of a fitter Emblem of a naturall man, then Lyme, which agreeth well with all things that are dry, and of it's owne nature; but meeting with water (a thing directly opposite) it breaks, burns swels, smoaks, crackles, skips, and scatters, so nature will give a man leave to be any thing, save a sound Christian, and agree well with all others, bee their conditions never so contrary, provided they agree in the maine, are all seed of the same Serpent: but let the naturall man meet with one that is spirituall, they agree like heat and cold; if the one stayes, the other flies; or if both stay, they agree like two poysons in one stomack, the one being eve… sick of the other, bee they never so ne…re allied.
And no marvaile; for though they dwell in the same house, yet they belong to two severall Kingdomes; and albeit they both remaine on earth, yet they are governed by two severall Laws; the ones Burgueship being in Heaven, Phil. 3. 20. and the other being a Denison belonging to Hell; as Irishmen are dwellers in Ireland. but Denisons of England, and governed by the Statutes of this Kingdome.
Neither is it strange,Not strange that wicked men should a…rees… well that wicked men should agree one with another; for even savage beasts agree with themselves, else the wildernes would soone be unpeopled of her foure footed inhabitants: we know the Lion, is not cruell to the Lion; nor the Leopard, to the Leopard; nor one Tiger, to another; nor the Dragon, to the Dragon, …aith Aristotle, but every one will fight with, and against the Lambe; one Crow never puls out another Crows eyes; on Wolfe will not make war with another; but every Wolfe will make war with a Sheepe: yea, the Snakes of Syria, the Serpents of Tyrinthia, and the Scorpions of Arcadia, are gentle and sparing to them of their naturall soyle, though cruell to others, as Plini… reports.
Yea, even Divels themselves, while they so mortally hate, and violently oppose God, and his Image in all the sonnes of Adam, are not at enmity with themselves, but accord in wickednesse: and Iudas, the very worst of men, he that would be false to his owne Lord and Master, would yet be true to his chapmen, the high Priests: even evill Spirits, and the worst of men, keepe touch one with another.