Now the _Devil_ having carried his Game here, gain'd a great Point; for as there were but two religious Families in the World before, from whence a twofold Generation might be supposed to rise religious and righteous like their Parents, (_viz._) that of _Abraham_ and this of _Lot_; this Crime ruin'd the Hopes of one of them; it could no more be said that just _Lot_ was in Being, who vex'd his _righteous Soul_ from Day to Day with the wicked Behaviour of the People of _Sodom_; righteous _Lot_ was degenerated into drunken incestuous _Lot_, LOT fallen from what he was, to be a wicked and unrighteous Man; no pattern of Virtue, no Reprover of the Age, but a poor fallen Degenerate Patriarch, who could now no more reprove or exhort, but look down and be asham'd, and nothing to do but to repent; and see the poor mean Excuses of all the three. Eve says, _The Serpent beguil'd me, and I did eat_. Noah says, ---- _My Grandson beguil'd me, or the Wine beguil'd me, and I did drink_. Lot says, _My Daughters beguil'd me, and I also did drink_. It is observable, that as I said above, _Noah_ was silenc'd, and his Preaching at an End, after that one Action, so the like may be said of _Lot_; and in short, you never hear one Word more of either of them after it; as for Mankind, both were useless to them, and as to themselves, we never read of any of their Repentance, nor have we much Reason to believe they did repent. From this Attack of the _Devil_ upon _Lot_, we hear no more of the _Devil_ being so busily employ'd as he had been before in the World; he had indeed but little to do, for all the rest of the World was his own, lull'd asleep under the Witchcraft of Idolatry, and are so still. But it could not be long that the _Devil_ lay idle; as soon as God call'd himself a People, the _Devil_ could not be at Rest; till he attack'd them. 'Wherever God sets up a House of Prayer, 'The Devil always builds a Chapel there. _Abraham_ indeed went off the Stage free, and so did _Isaac_ too, they were a Kind of first Rate Saints; we do not so much as read of any failing they had, or of any Thing the _Devil_ had ever the Face to offer to them; no, or with _Jacob_ either, if you will excuse him for beguiling his Brother _Esau_, of both his Birthright and his Blessing, but he was busy enough with all his Children; for Example, * * * * * He sent _Judah_ to his Sheep-shearing, and placed a Whore (_Tamar_) in his Way, in the Posture of Temptation, so made him commit Incest and Whoredom both together. He sent incestuous _Reuben_ to lie with his Father's Concubine _Billah_. He sent _Dinah_ to the Ball, to dance with the _Sichemite_ Ladies, and play the Whore with their Master. He enrag'd _Simeon_ and _Levi_, at the supposed Injury, and then prompted them to Revenge, for which their Father heartily cursed them.