Whoredom and Adultery
WHOREDOM AND ADULTERY.
Phil. Well sir, now you have sufficiently rolled the stone, and at large satisfied us touching the matter of pride, which is the first sign of condemnation ; now proceed to the second, which is whoredom, and unfold unto us out of the scriptures the dangers thereof.
Theol. Solomon in his Proverbs, xxii. 14, saith, "That the mouth of a strange woman, or an harlot, is as a deep pit: he, that is a detestation to the Lord, shall fall therein ;" wherein he plainly sheweth, that those whom God detesteth, and is exceeding angry with, are given over to this vice.
A.nd, in another place, xxiii. 27, he saith, "A whore is as a deep ditch, and as a narrow pit;" noting thereby, that if a man be once fallen in with an harlot, he shall as hardly get out again, as a man that is plunged into a very deep and narrow pit, where he can scarce stir himself.
The same Solomon, in the book of Ecclesiastes, vii. 26, yieldeth us the reason hereof; namely, because she is as nets, snares, and bands; wherein if a man be once taken he is fast enough for getting out.
" I find," saith he, " more bitter than death, the woman, whose heart is as nets and snares, and her hands as bands.
He that is good before God shall be delivered from her ; but the sinner shall be taken by her."
We do therefore plainly see, in what a labyrinth and a dangerous case they be, that are left of God, and given over to whoredom and harlots.
And therefore it is said, Prov. vi. 25, 26, " Desire not her beauty in thine heart; neither let her eyelids catch thee.
For,
WHOBEBOM AKD ADULTEET.
by a whorisli woman a man is brought to a morsel of bread : and the adulteress hunteth for life, which is precious."
Again he saith, v. 3, 4, " Albeit the lips of an harlot drop as an honeycomb, and the roof of her mouth is softer than oil; yet her latter end is bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a two-edged sword."
AU these prudent speeches of the Holy Ghost do most evidently shew unto us, what a fearful thing it is to commit whoredom, and so to fall into the hands of whores and harlots.
Therefore Job saith of the wicked, xxxvi. 14, " Their soul dieth in youth, and their life among the whoremongers."
Phil. You have very well shewed, out of God's book, the great danger of whoredom and adultery
; and it is greatly to be lamented that men in this age make so light of it as they do, and that it is so common a vice: nay, that soQne (alas, with grief I speak it) do profess it, live by it, and prostitute themselves wholly unto it.
TTieol. Such men and women may justly fear the plaguing hand of God: for the Lord saith, by his prophet, " Though I fed them to the full, yet they committed adultery, and assembled themselves by companies in harlots' houses.
They rose up in the morning like fed horses; every man neigheth after his neighbour's wife.
Shall I not visit for these things?
(saith the Lord) Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?" Jer. v. 7-9.
Phil. Methinketh, if men were not altogether hardened in this sin, and even past feeling, and past grace, this threatening and thundering of God himself from heaven should terrify them.
Theol. A man would think so indeed: but now we may take up the old complaint of the
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prophet, Jer. viii.
6, "I hearkened and heard, and lo, no man spake aright: no man repented of his evil, saying, What have I done?
Every one turned to their race, as the horse rusheth into the battle."
Antil. Tush, whoredom is but a trick of youth; and vre see all men have their imperfections,
Theol. You speak profanely and wickedly ; for, shall we count that but a trick of youth for the which the Lord smote three and twenty thousand of his own people in one day ?
1 Cor. x. 8.
Shall we count that but a trick of youth for the which the Lord threatened David, his own servant, that the sword should never depart from his house?
2 Sam. xii. 10.
Shall we count that but a trick of youth, for the which Hamor and Shechem, Gren. xxxiv. 25, the father and the son, and many other, both men, women, and children, were cruelly murdered by Simeon and Levi, the sons of Jacob ?
Shall we count that but a trick of youth, for which the Lord slew Hophni and Phineas, the two sons of Eli the priest, in the battle of the Philistines ? 1 Sam. ii. 22, iv. 11.
Shall we thus set all at six and seven, and make light of such horrible villanies?
Doth not the severity of the punishment shew the greatness of the sin ?
Doth not the apostle say, " These things came upon them for our examples, upon whom the ends of the world are come," 1 Cor.
X. 11, and yet you pass it over with a tush, and a trick of youth, as if God were to be dallied with?
No, no, "be not deceived; God is not mocked."
They which will not be moved now in hearing, shall one day be crushed in pieces in feeling.
And they which now call whoredom, a trick of youth, shall one day howl and cry, yell
VHOREDOM XSJ> ADTJLTEKT.
and yelp, for such tricks, with woe and alas that ever they were bom.
Antil. Oh!
Sir, you must bear with youth: youth you know is frail; and youth will be youthfvd, when you have said all that you can.
Theol. Yes, but God doth allow no more liberty unto youth, than unto age; but bindeth all, upon pain of death, to the obedience of his commandments.
The apostle saith, " Let the young men be sober minded," Tit. ii. 6.
David saith, " Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his way ?
In taking heed thereto according to thy word,"
Ps. cxis.
The wise man saith, " Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, Eccl. xii.
And further addeth, that if they will needs follow their lusts, their pleasures, and their own swing, yet in the end he will bring them to judgment, arraign them, condemn them, and tame them in hell-fire well enough.
Phil. Yet we see, men are so violently carried after their lust, and so desperately bent, that they will have the present sweet and pleasure of sin, come of it what will.
Come sickness, come death, come hell, come damnation, they are at a point: they will pay the highest price for their lusts.
They will purchase theii* pleasures with the loss of their souls.
Oh, wofid purchase! Oh, damnable pleasures!
Theol. Sweet meat will have sour sauce, and a dram of pleasure a pound of sorrow.
Such cursed catiffs* shall at last pay a dear shot for their pleasures.
Such desperate wretches shall one day know (to their everlasting woe) what it is to pro- * Mean rillaiiis.
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voke God, and to sin with so high an hand against him.
They shall well know, in spite of their hearts, that vengeance is prepared for the wicked, and that there is a God that judgeth the earth.
Let all men therefore take heed in time, "For whoremongers and adulterers God will judge,"
Heb. xiii. 4.
And the apostle saith flatly, "That whoremongers and adulterers shall not inherit the kingdom of God," 1 Cor. vi. 9.
"Let therefore no fornicator, or unclean person, be found amongst us, as was Esau," Heb. xii. 16.
"But let us abstain from fleshly lusts, which fight against the soul," 1 Pet. ii. 11.
"And let every one know how to possess his vessel in holiness and honour, and not in the lust of concupiscence, as the Gentiles, which know not God," 1 Thess. iv. 5.
Herein let us consider the wise speech of an ancient father (Chrysostom), "Sin, while it is in doing, ministereth some pleasure; but when it is committed, the short pleasure thereof vanisheth away, and long sorrow cometh instead of it."
Neither let us here reject the saying of a wise heathen, "Shun pleasure, for fear of smart."
Sour things follow sweet, and joy heaviness.
Antil. Yet for all this, you shall not make me believe, that whoredom is so heinous a matter.
You make more of it than it is.
Theol. True indeed.
For you, and such as you are, will believe nothing against your lusts, and fleshly delights: and that is the cause why you are deaf on this ear.
I will therefore add a word or two more (out of the oracles of God) to that which hath been spoken.
The wise king saith, "He that committeth adultery with women, destroyeth his own soul,"
Prov. vi.
32, and so is accessory to his own death, which is no
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small matter.
For we used to saj, if a man hung himself, drown himself, or any manner of way make away with himself, that he was cursed of God, that God's hand was heavy against him, that the devil owed him a shame, and now he hath paid it him.
And all the country rings of such a strange accident, when, and where it falleth out: and the crowner* of the country doth sit upon it.f How much more may all the world wonder at this, that a man should destroy his own soul, and wittingly and willingly cast away himself for ever!
Xow the Holy Ghost saith, the adulterer doth such an act, giveth such a venture, and willingly murdereth himself.
Oh, therefore woe unto him, that ever he was horn!
For sure it is that great crowner of heaven, that crowns whom he will crown, shall one day sit upon it, and give judgment.
Moreover, as the adulterer sinneth against his soul, so also he sinneth against his hody after a special manner, as witnesseth the apostle, 1 Cor. vi. 18.
Also, he sinneth against his goods and outward estate, as the holy man Job testifieth, saying, " Adultery is a fire, that devoureth to destruction, and it will root out all our increase," Job xxxi.
12.
Furthermore, he sinneth against his name, " For the adulterer shall find a wound and dishonour: and his reproach shall never be put away,"
Prov. vi. 33.—Item, he sinneth against his wife ; who is his companion and the wife of his covenant.
And God saith, in the same place, " Let none trespass against the wife of his youth ; keep yourselves in your spirit, and transgress not."
Last of all, he sinneth * Coroner.
> It appears that goicides were rare occurrences in those days.
How lamentably frequent are they in these last days!
WHOREDOM AKD ADULTEBT.
against his children and posterity: as the Lord " Because thou hast despised me, and done this, therefore the sword shall never desaid to David, part from thy house.
Behold I will raise up evil against thee, out of thine own house," 2 Sam. xii.
10.
Now therefore, to conclude this point, we may see how many deadly wounds men make in themselves, hy committing of adultery.
They wound themselves in their souls—they wound themselves in their bodies—they wound themselves in their goods—they wound themselves in their names—they wound themselves in their wives and in their children.
What man, except he were stark mad, would thrust himself, in so many places, at once ? The adulterer, with his own sin of adultery, maketh all these deadly wounds in himself; and it is a hundred to one he will never get them cured, but will die, and bleed to death of them.
Lo, thus you see the dangerous quality and condition of this sin.
Shall we now therefore make light of it ?
Shall we say it is but a trick of youth ?
Shall we smooth over the matter with sweet words, when the Holy Ghost makes it so heinous and capital?
Shall we make nothing of that which draweth down Grod's wrath upon the soul, body, goods, name, wife, and children?
That were an intolerable blindness, and most extreme hardness of heart.
An ancient writer hath long ago passed sentence upon us, who make so light of this sin : for, saith he, " Adultery is the very book of the devil; whereby he draweth us to destruction."
And another godly father saith: that "Adultery is like a furnace, whose mouth is gluttony, the flame pride, the sparks filthy words, the smoke an evil name, the ashes poverty, and the end shame."
And so we
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plainly see, that howsoever we regard not this sin, bat flatter ourselves in it, yet those, whose eyes the Lord hath opened, have in all ages condemned it as most flagitious and horrible: yea, the very heathen will rise up in judgment against us, who have spoken and written many things against this filthy and beastly vice.
Phil. Now indeed you have sufficiently branded the vice of adultery, and laid out the ugliness thereof, that all men may behold it stark naked and abhor it.
If any man, notwithstanding all this, will venture upon it, he may be said to be a most desperate monster.
For what doth he else, but, as it were, put his finger into the lion's mouth, and, as it were, take the bear by the tooth ? and they may "well know what will follow, and what they may look for.
Let all men therefore in time take heed to themselves, and to their own souls, as they will answer it at their uttermost peril, at the dreadful day of judgment, when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed.
But now one thing resteth ; to wit, that you should shew us the special roots and causes of adultery.
Theol. There be five special causes of it.
The first is our natural corruption: for the very spawn and seed of all sin is in our corrupt nature; and this, of all others, is a most inherent sin, as witnesseth the apostle James, saying, "When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is perfected, bringeth forth death," i. 15.
—The second is gluttony and fulness of bread: for when men have filled their bellies, and crammed their paunches, as full of good cheer, wine, and strong drink, as their skins can hold, what are they meet for, or what mind they else, but adultery and uncleanness ?
And therefore well saith
WHOREDOM
A3TD ADULTERY.
one, "Great nourishment, and gross food, it is the shop of lust."
The heathen poet could skill to say, "Sine Cicere et Baccho friget Venus,^' without meat and drink, lust waxeth cold; and to this effect the wise king saith, "That their eyes shall behold strange women, whose hearts are set upon wine or belly cheer,"
Prov. xxiii.
3, 33; and therefore he adviseth all men, not to look upon the wine when it appeareth red, when it sheweth his colour in the cup, or stirreth very kindly; and that for fear of this after-clap.
An ancient writer saith to the same purpose, "He that delicately pampereth his belly, and yet would overcome the spirit of fornication, is like him that will quench a flame of fire with oil."
Therefore to close up this point, sure it is though men pray much, hear and read much, and be otherwise welldisposed; yet except they be abstemious in diet, they will be much troubled with lust.—The third cause of adultery is idleness; for when men are lazy, lurkish, and idle, having nothing to do, they lie wide open to adultery, and lust creepeth into them.
Some historiographers write, the crab fish is very desirous to eat oysters ; but because she cannot by force open them, she watcheth her time when they open themselves unto the sun after the tide, and then she putteth in her claw, and pulleth out the oyster.
Even so Satan watcheth his opportunity against us, that he may infect and breathe into us all filthy lusts, and adulterous desires, when we lie open unto him by idleness.
Wisely therefore, to this point, said the Greek poet, "Much rest nourisheth lust;" and another poet saith, "Qucvritur cegistus quare sit factus adulter ?
In promtu causa est : desidiosus erat,"
Slothful laziness is the cause of
WHOBEDOM ASD ADULTERY.
adultery; and therefore another saith, "Eschew idleness, and cut the sinews of lust."—The fourth cause of adultery, is wanton apparel; which is a minstrelsy, that pipes up a dance into whoredom.
But of this enough before.—The fifth and last of adultery, is the hope of impunity, or escaping of punishment.
For many being blinded and hardened by Satan, think they shidl never be called to an account for it, and because they can blear the eyes of men, and carry this sin so closely imder a cloud, that it shall never come to light, they think all is safe, and that God seeth them not; and therefore Job saith. Job xxiv. 15, "The eye of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, and saith, no eye shall see me;" and in another place,
Job xxii.
13, "How shall God know? can he judge through the dark clouds?"
But verily, verily, though theadalterer do never so closely and cunningly convey his sin under a canopy, yet the time will come when it shall be disclosed, to his eternal shame.
"For God will bring every work tojudgment, with every secret thought, whither it be good or evil," Eccles. xii. 14.
For he hath set our most secret sins in the light of his countenance," Psalm xc.
"And he will lighten the things that are hid in darkness, and make the counsels of the heart manifest," 1 Cor. iv. 5.
For this cause Job saith. Job x.
14, "When I sin thou watchest me, and wilt not purge me from my sin."
Phil. Now you have shewed us the causes of adultery, I pray you shew us the remedies.
Theol. There be six remedies for adultery; which no doubt will greatly prevail, if they be well practised.
PUl. Which be thev?