Christian ethics -- Fiction; Christian fiction; Conduct of life -- Fiction
Atten. Though God forbears to deal thus with all men that thus rend and
tare his Name, and that immediate Judgments do not overtake them; yet
he makes their lives by other Judgments bitter to them, does he not?
Wise. Yes, yes. And for proof, I need goe no further than to this
Badman and his wife; for their railing, and cursing, and swearing ended
not in words: They would fight and fly at each other, and that like
Cats and Dogs. But it must be looked upon as the hand and Judgment of
God upon him for his villany; he had an honest woman before, but she
would not serve his turn, and therefore God took her away, and gave
him one as bad as himself. Thus that measure that he meted to his
first wife, this last did mete to him again. And this is a punishment,
wherewith sometimes God will punish wicked men. So said Amos to
Amaziah: Thy wife shall be an Harlot in the City. {155} With this
last wife Mr. Badman lived a pretty while; but, as I told you before,
in a most sad and hellish manner. And now he would bewail his first
wifes death: not of love that he had to her Godliness, for that he
could never abide, but for that she used alwayes to keep home, whereas
this would goe abroad; his first wife was also honest, and true to
that Relation, but this last was a Whore of her Body: The first woman
loved to keep things together, but this last would whirl them about as
well as he: The first would be silent when he chid, and would take it
patiently when he abused her, but this would give him word for word,
blow for blow, curse for curse; so that now Mr. Badman had met with his
match: {156a} God had a mind to make him see the baseness of his own
life, in the wickedness of his wives. {156b} But all would not do with
Mr. Badman, he would be Mr. Badman still: This Judgment did not work
any reformation upon him, no, not to God nor man.
Atten. I warrant you that Mr. Badman thought when his wife was dead,
that next time he would match far better.
Wise. What he thought I cannot tell, but he could not hope for it in
this match. For here he knew himself to be catcht, he knew that he was
by this woman intangled, and would therefore have gone back again, but
could not. He knew her, I say, to be a Whore before, and therefore
could not promise himself a happy life with her. For he or she that
will not be true to their own soul, will neither be true to husband nor
wife. And he knew that she was not true to her own soul, and therefore
could not expect she should be true to him but Solomon says, An whore
is a deep pit, and Mr. Badman found it true. For when she had caught
him in her pit, she would never leave him till she had got him to
promise her Marriage; and when she had taken him so far, she forced him
to marry indeed. And after that, they lived that life that I have told
you.
Atten. But did not the neighbours take notice of this alteration that
Mr. Badman had made?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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