The Thirty-Seventh Sermon, which is the fifth upon the fifth Chapter - Ephesians 5:15-18
them more and more, and in any wise not to suffer us to fall asleep like wretched infidels. But, forasmuch as it is His will that our life should be as one continual day, wherein He gives us not the sun to enlighten us only for a time, so that night should afterward come upon us, but guides and governs us Himself both night and day, may we take such profit thereby, that He does not suffer us to return to darkness again after He has so enlightened us, but keeps us still waking, to go through in the holy calling whereunto He has called us, and to follow the way which He shows us. So, as we may call others to us, to run all together unto Him, as He calls us, until we fully come there.
May it please Him to grant this grace, not only to us but also to all people and nations of the earth. Amen.
The Thirty-Seventh Sermon,
which is the fifth upon the fifth Chapter.
15. Take heed therefore that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise:
16. Redeeming the time, for the days are evil.
17. Wherefore be not unwise, but understanding what is the will of the Lord.
18. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess.
The care that we have for our temporal profit will suffice to condemn us before God for the negligence seen in us when we come to the proper ordering of our lives. For we think to escape with the excuse that we did not think of it. But is it a tolerable fault that, when God calls us to Him and sets the heavenly life before us—especially telling us how dearly it was purchased and requiring nothing but that we should yield Him His right, that is to say, that we should glorify Him in true obedience—all this should be nothing to us? Must it not be that we are too gross-headed, too occupied with trivial matters, as you would say, and with things that vanish away, and in the meantime, despise the kingdom of heaven to such an extent as to make no account of God's service and to esteem the salvation of our souls as nothing? Yes, it must be so.
Therefore, Saint Paul exhorts us now to be more alert than we have been accustomed to be. First, he says that in this case, we must stand upon our guard and not imagine that God will acquit us for our foolishness when we are entangled in this world and by that means
think not upon the kingdom of heaven. "Take heed," says he, "that ye walk circumspectly."
It is true that although we look ever so carefully to ourselves, yet we shall not fail to be carried away by our infirmities. We commit many faults, not only through ignorance but also even knowingly, and oftentimes we are not strong enough to withstand temptations as steadfastly as would be required. Nevertheless, if you closely examine why men so easily excuse themselves from many offenses and why they convince themselves that God does not think of them, you will find that it proceeds from negligence.
For if we considered that we walk in the presence of God and His angels, surely it would hold us in a different manner of awe than we are now. That, therefore, is the reason why he expressly requires here great care and circumspection in us, so that no man should give himself over to evil for lack of taking heed.
And to provoke us the more thereto, he adds that we have need to redeem the time because the days are evil. In this, he shows that we cannot devise a way to abuse God's grace so little, but it is a willful losing of the time, which we cannot recover afterward.
Now then, let us gather a brief summary of the things that are contained here, and let us begin at this point: the days are evil, whereby Saint Paul lets us know that we shall find many obstacles to keep us from coming unto God. For we know we are hemmed in with so many corruptions that even those who are best-minded shall stumble on one side, be pulled back on the other, and at times stray quite away.
Now, we need a singular inner strength to fight in such a way as to get the upper hand over all the impediments that Satan casts before
us, to pluck us from our God and to thrust us quite and clean out of the way of salvation. Therefore, it has been true in all ages that, as long as men are always wayward by nature and we are born in sin,
Satan holds us as his prisoners. Again, there is not a man among us who does not draw others to naughtiness. Moreover, we scarcely know how to open our eyes, but we shall see one thing or another that may utterly overthrow us, and the devil, through his wiles, applies all to his own work, so that unless we take good heed to his doings, he mars us out of hand.
But the more the world rages and the more that iniquity overflows, the more ought we to mark well this text and the counsel that is given to us here by the Holy Ghost. For surely, nowadays, men have come to the full measure of all enormity, and there is no part of the world where a man may find honest and straightforward dealing. In old times, a man might have found some nations where the people were not so crafty and malicious, nor so excessive in pomp and all kinds of pleasures, nor so deeply steeped in robbery, cruelty, and extortion.
But nowadays, let a man go about anywhere, and he shall find that there is nothing but a horrible flood and confused turmoil of all wickedness. Therefore, if Saint Paul said that the days were evil when there was a hundred times more soundness than there is nowadays, we ought to be all the more vigilant in keeping good watch, according to the increasing evil of the time.
If there is any fear of war, each of us will lower his demeanor and consider that it is not for him to hazard all at once, but that he must reserve some little sprinkling for a pinch, as well of victuals as of other things. Also, if we have any other troubles, each of us will be sufficiently foresighted in that regard.
Let us consider our situation (will we say), for necessity will drive us to it. But now we see well the evil of the days; that is to say, that all is against us. And although we were the most diligent and circumspect in the world, yet we shall not fail to be caught off guard by many things and to find ourselves hindered when we should serve God.
Yet, notwithstanding, all this passes and slips away, and we do not mind it at all.
Therefore, let us consider our situation and learn to redeem the time; that is to say, the more occasions there are to provoke us to wickedness and to pull us away from God, the more let each of us exert and strive to do good. For we are accustomed to taking the corruptness of the time as a cloak to cover our sloth and laziness, and so we always convince ourselves that it is lawful for us to play the wastrel among wastrels, as the proverb says.
If a man tells us that we must live fairly and uprightly, how shall I do it, will every man say? A man cannot buy even a penny's worth of apples without some deceit; and how then may I deal in goods or merchandise? Again, if a man tells us that we must live soberly and temperately: yes, (we say) but who does it? If a man speaks to us of patience and meekness, and such other things: is it not apparent (we say) that everyone behaves quite contrary? Shall I be all alone in the world? Lo, how we make vice our shield against God and against all the warnings given to us, as if, because it is common, it ought to serve us for an acquittance or discharge.
But, on the contrary, it is said here that we must take so much more pain to redeem the time. And the more the devil labors to hinder us, and the more means and wiles he has to do it, the more must each of us employ himself manfully and awaken all his wits and understanding, praying God to strengthen us and to give power to
resist him. Thus, you see that our redeeming of the time must not be by making temporal (and worldly) gain, for in that regard we need neither counsel nor encouragement; every man is too much inclined that way by his own nature, and our desires are so fiery that they will not allow us to be slothful in that case.
But since we see the devil goes about to trouble us, that we should not spend our lives in serving God, let us redeem the time in that respect. And in what manner? In that he speaks of redeeming
(ransoming or buying again), he presupposes that we must forgo and lose the thing we were desirous to have kept. For when we are to redeem a thing that was gone out of our hands, or to buy a thing that we need, or to negotiate for a thing that another man withholds from us, in those cases we forgo some piece of our profit.
If another man has laid hold of a thing that was for my benefit, I must give him a piece of money to get it out of his hand again. Even so, it is said that we must redeem the time. And in what manner? Not always with gold and silver, but by forsaking our own desires. It is true that sometimes gold and silver must be spent on it. For if worldly riches turn us away or pull us back from following wherever
God calls us, we must redeem the time; that is to say, all that we perceive to be harmful and offensive in that way must be thrust underfoot.
However, there are many other means besides. For some are so ensnared in their ambition that this world has altogether captivated them, and they take no taste of everlasting life, no matter what is preached to them. Others are given to deceit, and others to extortion.
According to how each man sees the devil able to win over him and make him lose his time by consuming it in wicked things, so let him
redeem it; that is to say, let him reform himself and forsake both himself and all the temptations by which he might be entangled.
You see then, that the thing we must take note of in this passage is that, considering the corruptness that is nowadays throughout the world, and the great number of outrageous vices, and how all things are quite out of order, and (to be short) that even the most righteous men are somewhat infected with the vices and disorders that are everywhere: instead of seeking vain excuses by alleging that we are weak and unable to overcome the great number of impediments offered to us, we must redeem the time.
Now the only way to do it is to understand that Satan's efforts to thrust us down are not a sufficient excuse for us before God. For if we resort to Him, He will give us armor and weapons to hold out in the battle until we have gained the victory. However, let it not grieve us to set aside the things we liked and to hold our wicked affections as it were imprisoned. Then it will be easy for us to follow what Saint Paul says here, which is to be watchful and heedful, that we walk wisely, even as wise people and not as fools.
We have already seen before that if we profit in God's school as we ought to do, we shall have a sure rule and cannot be deceived or misled. For God knows what we need, and He has not failed to show us anything. Therefore, Saint Paul presupposes that although we are blind wretches, although we are overwhelmed with the darkness of this world, and although the devil has many subtle tricks and wiles to trap us, yet if we are good students of God and allow ourselves to be guided by Him and His Word, we shall have sufficient wisdom. We shall not be able to say that we have sinned unknowingly, for God is wise enough to guide our entire life, at least if we listen to all that He
says and yield ourselves to be easily taught. If it is so, then we may surely be wise, as Saint Paul requires.
Indeed, he explains himself immediately after by saying that we must not be unwise, but well-advised, and understanding what the will of God is. He shows here what kind of wisdom he means. It is not as the world speaks of it. For the world says a man is very wise when he is cunning enough to deceive, skilled in protecting himself from his enemies, and able to maintain himself by his craftiness and policy.
Or else, the wisdom of the world is to plan well for one's profit, whether it be by fair means or foul. For there is no talk of the fear of God, no talk of equity, and much less of honesty and straightforward dealing, because he who will be wise according to the world must wear two faces under one hood; he must be malicious, full of lies.
As for the one who walks in truth, he shall be counted as a simpleton, for he makes himself a target for everyone to prey upon. He who will not turn either to the right hand or to the left shall likewise be called a fool. You see then that the wisdom of the world cannot be without wickedness and an evil conscience. But Saint Paul, following the teachings of Scripture, namely that "the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord" (Proverbs 9:10), and that "the fear of the Lord is the perfection of wisdom" (Psalm 111:10), tells us that when we are skillful in understanding God's will, then we are wise.
His intent, then, is to condemn all the schemes, tricks, and cunning that people use and in which they immerse themselves and boast. He shows that all such things are loathsome before God. What kind of wisdom, then, shall there be in us? Enough, if we know what the will of God is. Yes, but in the meantime, how shall we behave ourselves toward the world? God will bless our simplicity so that we do not fall into the snares of the wicked. For we hear our Lord Jesus telling His
disciples to "be wise as serpents and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16). God, therefore, will not allow us to be destroyed by the wicked, even though we live simply and plainly and have none of the worldly schemes to resist them.
Let us only commit ourselves to the care of our God, and He will give us enough wisdom. However, the chief matter is not to have skill to maintain ourselves in this world and to prevent people from wronging or injuring us. We must begin higher: that is, by ruling our life in such a way that God may approve of it, and we show ourselves to understand the purpose for which He has set us in this world, and to what end He has created and redeemed us—that we should come to the inheritance of heaven. That is the way for us to be truly wise.
Again, although this doctrine seems strange to those who are immersed in the world and utterly ignorant of their calling, yet, if we look closely at it, we shall see that it is rightly said, "There is no wisdom but the fear of God." For what do all those who seek to advance themselves through covetousness, ambition, and other devices actually do? It is certain they provoke God's wrath against themselves: and often, they receive the reward they deserve, for they spin ropes for themselves and for their children. Whereas they hoped to enrich themselves, to maintain themselves in great dignity, and to leave an everlasting name in their houses here, God curses all their attempts. The more they hoard, and the higher they climb, the more horrible is their fall and confusion, so that the goods they have accumulated turn to their undoing, at least in the eyes of the world.
But suppose their prosperity holds always at one level; yet, do we not know that our happiness does not consist in this transitory life, which is of no continuance, but is like a shadow that vanishes out of hand? What shall we then think of the person who, being created in
God's image, redeemed by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and adopted to be a companion with the angels, nevertheless plays the beast willfully, forgetting what he is and even the price of his salvation?
If a person, created to inherit everlasting life, is content with three or four days of pleasure here below and cares for nothing else, must it not be that Satan has bewitched him, deprived him of all understanding and reason, and finally made him like a brute beast?
For if a man's son forsakes his father's house and the sustenance prepared for him there, and goes roaming around to have a few days of pleasure, whether it be in debauchery or any other wickedness, and afterward becomes a beggar with not a morsel of bread to eat, will not the world say that such a child is utterly blind and worse than mad?
Now, let us compare this to the inheritance prepared for us in heaven, which was purchased so dearly for us. Let us see wherein it excels over our wicked and cursed desires. Let us see where those people are headed who turn away from God and what their end is likely to be when they stray away from the source of life and all joy.
So then, had we any settled understanding, surely we would no longer think it strange that true wisdom for humanity is to live in the fear of God. For that is the thing in which all our welfare consists, as it is said in the Psalms. Therefore, it stands us so much more to take heed to this lesson where Saint Paul tells us that we shall ever be strangers from all well-being so long as we do not seek to obey God.
Besides the things previously mentioned, we have also to note that (as I said before) there is no other rule than framing our life according to God's commandment. Would we then have God approve of us and be pleased with us? Let us not rest upon our own intents,
nor let any of us be too inclined to stand in our own conceit, saying, "This seems good to me; it must be so, for I approve of it." Let us beware of such over-boldness and instead offer ourselves to our God, assuring ourselves that we cannot go wrong in obeying Him, since our whole wisdom lies in inquiring about His will.
Now, can we say that our Lord has hidden anything from us that was beneficial for us to know? No, for He declares that He will show us the way of life, "so long as we are not stubborn but bow down our heads with one accord to be subject to His Word" (Psalm 25:12). The same was declared long before in the Law, "which was nevertheless but dark in comparison to the Gospel" (Hebrews 10:1), for there we have the full and perfect sight.
Therefore, let us not excuse ourselves by claiming to be unlearned or that we are the most ignorant people in the world, thinking we can escape accountability by saying, "I am no theologian; I never went to school." For God has stooped in such a way that all of us, from the greatest to the least, may be taught familiarly by His Word, provided there is no resistance or contradiction in us, and that we allow ourselves to be guided and governed by His will.
And His will is manifest to us, as He declares by His prophet Isaiah:
"I have not spoken to you in secret," says He, "I have not said in vain, 'Seek me.' Whosoever seeks me, I will be at hand with him, and show him familiarly whatsoever is for his welfare" (Isaiah 45:19).
To be brief, Saint Paul presupposes here (as he says to the Colossians), "that when the Gospel is preached to us, there we shall find a faultless wisdom, by means of which we shall have a very certain way" (Colossians 1:9). Therefore, let us beware that we do not stray from it one way or another.
It is true that not all men will be as well enlightened as would be required, but where can that be attributed but to our own fault and negligence? And again, although many simple souls do not attain the knowledge that might lead and direct them perfectly to serving God according to their heart's desire, nevertheless, all who submit themselves humbly to God's Word, receive it, give themselves to it, and bear such reverence towards it as they ought to do, will surely have a good guiding star to lead them to the heritage of heaven, even if they drag their feet and are not as well-advised as one would wish.
For this reason, Saint Paul rebukes all those who are ungrateful and stubborn, to whom the Gospel is preached, if they are not sure what
God's will is, for it shows them as much as is needed for their salvation. It is true that God will not make us soar above the clouds, nor feed our curiosity, as many desire, who want speculations, and are eager to hear new things and would like a change of speech every day to tickle their ears. But God will not cater to our fancies to that extent. He will teach us the things that are necessary for bringing us to Him. And what more could we want? That, therefore, is what we have to remember upon this saying of Saint Paul's.
Now then, let no man think it strange that the wretched world has so run astray, that every man sneaks away alone by himself, and there is nothing but confusion everywhere, as we see, for example, among the poor Papists, who stir themselves out of all measure and yet fail so much in coming unto God that they go further from Him through their misguided and brutish zeal. And why? Because they care nothing for God's will. Instead, every man follows his own fancy, and all of them excuse themselves under the pretense of good intent. By that means, the world has been perverted; by that means, all things have been put out of order; and by that means, all certainty has been taken away, because instead of God's will, which ought to be so
apparent that every man might bow down his neck to it and receive the yoke that is laid upon him, men have taken leave and liberty to do what they thought good of themselves.
Forasmuch then as God's will has been so despised, and men have been so devilishly bold and overweening as to behave themselves after their own inclination, it has brought all things to confusion, and the disorder of it is still so great that it ought to make us shudder to think upon it. So much the more, therefore, does it stand us in good stead to hold ourselves very soberly in awe, by submitting ourselves to God and His pure word, and not to wander one way or the other, seeing that all our wisdom consists therein. This is what we ought to remember further, in Saint Paul's setting down of God's only will for the full rule of all things. But we cannot frame ourselves accordingly unless we take leave of all our capricious desires and of all that seems good in our own eyes and allow God to reign over us, and to have such mastery among us that we neither add anything to His pure word nor take anything from it.
Saint Paul could well have said simply that we must walk as people who are well advised. But he also adds on the contrary that we should not be fools and unwise, to show that it is but mockery when men say, "I am hindered by other people. I do not have the means to study, so that I might do good at it," or "I am a poor simple soul or a servant, or a craftsman." Therefore, to cut off this sort of excuse,
Saint Paul tells us that although those who think themselves to be the wisest are but fools, yet God will remedy those who allow themselves to be governed by His word.
However, let us note (as I said before) that it is not for men to elevate themselves or to be so proud as to think that they can govern themselves as they ought to do. For the beginning of our wisdom is to
be fools in our own eyes, "Let him who thinks he is wise in this age become a fool so that he may become wise" (1 Corinthians 3:18). But on the one side, there is presumptuousness, so that very few can humble themselves in such a way as not to be still pulled back and hindered by their own opinions. And, on the other side, some are so careless that although they have their ears daily filled with God's word, yet they continue dull for all that can be done.
So much the more does it behoove us to heed well the warning given us here: which is, to be well taught in God's school, we must not bring any part of our own reason, nor must we think our own devices good, but we must be fools in ourselves—that is to say, void of our own reason—and we must give place and open way to God's word, so that we accept without any resistance whatsoever is spoken by His mouth.
Hereupon, Saint Paul comes back again to certain particular and special exhortations, as he had begun to do before, and first he says that the faithful ought to keep themselves well from being drunken with wine, "wherein there is excess" (Ephesians 5:18). As if he should say that we must have such restraint of ourselves in our eating and drinking, and so use the good things that God has ordained for our sustenance, as to take a moderate portion of them, and not make ourselves like brute beasts.
Now, that we may profit well by this doctrine, we must first consider to what end our Lord has appointed food and all other things for our sustenance. What then is the lawful use of wine, water, bread, and all other victuals? Truly, to feed ourselves with them according to the need of our infirmity, and to sustain us in life so that we may do homage to Him from whom we hold our life, and by whom it is maintained, yielding Him thanks for His fatherly liberality. Secondly,
to keep ourselves occupied, every man according to his degree, and according to the ability that is given him.
Thus, you see that the lawful use of meat and drink is to sustain us— not that we might be like blocks of wood, but that every one of us might occupy himself in using the things that God has ordained, to the benefit of his neighbor and to earn his own living honestly, and especially above all things, to acknowledge the benefits that God, out of His infinite goodness, bestows upon us, that He may be glorified in all things, as it is said in another place. Now then, we see that meat and drink ought to serve to lead us to God. "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians
10:31).
For is it reasonable that when God shall have reached out His hand to pour upon us the benefits that we receive from Him, He should nonetheless go unrecognized, and we still feed ourselves at His expense and yet forget Him? Would not that be too foul and detestable a beastliness? Therefore, although meat and drink are helps to our weakness, yet we ought to refer all to God. Indeed, it may seem at first sight that we are hindered from doing good, as well by eating and drinking as also by sleeping. It is very true, and thereby
God shows what we are.
But, on the other hand, we must also come to the recompense of it, that forasmuch as the time is, in a way, lost while we take our repast because we cannot apply ourselves to the service of our neighbors during that time, our slowness in that regard may as it were spur us to resort to God, by considering what His goodness is toward us, according to the proof that He sets before our eyes. Thus you see (as I said) that although our eating and drinking do hinder us in worldly
matters, yet on the other side, they ought to give us occasion to be more cheerful in seeking God.
But now let us see what excess works. If a man crams himself so full that he becomes unwieldy, there is a change in his nature, and it is all one as if he were at defiance with God, with nature, and with all order. For (as I have said already) meat and drink are ordained to strengthen us so that we may apply ourselves to the things which God commands and our vocation requires. Now, therefore, when a man is so pampered that he can do no more, first, he has defiled the sustenance that God gave him; and secondly, he changes himself into a beast and, as much as he can, defaces the image of God. Moreover,
God is forgotten. Is not this monstrous unkindness, as though a man would mingle heaven and earth together?
But this is not yet all. Saint Paul adds here the outcome of all enormity when he says that in drunkenness and all riot there is looseness—that is to say, men overshoot themselves, putting away all shame, forgetting all honesty, and becoming wild beasts. We see that one of the properties of drunkenness is to drive men either into whoredom or into some other lewdness and to cast them into so sound a sleep that they perceive nothing at all: let a man mock them, let him spit in their faces—they feel nothing of it. Again, whatever comes to their tongues' end, out it goes, be it right or wrong, and they will as soon blaspheme God as speak unjustly of men, for there is no discretion at all in them.
Now, when men are thus carried away, and whereas God had printed His image in them to make them reasonable creatures, and given them an excellent state above all other living beings, they fall to playing the beasts after that fashion and become like asses and dogs.
Must it not be understood that drunkenness is one of the most
detestable things that can be? So then, Saint Paul meant to show us here in one word that, although there were no true fear of God in us to restrain us, nor we so well advised and discreet as to consider the true and lawful use of the benefits that God has granted us, yet we should refrain for shame of the world, forasmuch as we see that a drunken man is as confusion to all order, and there is nothing to be seen in him but a lump of all lewdness, insomuch that God's image is defaced, all reason quenched, and all things put out of order in him.
Therefore, since we see that drunkenness is matched with such extremities, ought we not to abhor it? And although Saint Paul has given here but a short glance at the enormities that happen through drunkenness, yet we must consider that in the same he has also generally comprehended all the rest. The thing then that we have to remember upon this point is that we must be sober and have control of ourselves in our eating and drinking, and that although there be abundance before us, yet we must be so discreet in taking our repast that our meats and drinks do not encumber us.
Even the very heathen men saw that—and no wonder—for it is a knowledge that cannot be wiped out, that we must eat and drink to live, and not live to eat and drink. And again, that we must take our repast to strengthen us and to make us able to do our duty, and not to make us unwieldy. For it is certain that bread, wine, and meats are not ordained to cast men down, but forasmuch as men should otherwise decay from famine, "Our Lord renews them and gives them their strength," according to this saying of the Psalms: "Wine gladdens man's heart, and bread strengthens it" (Psalm 104:15).
And so, you see what we have to remember in the first place.
And secondly, let us consider that when God allows men to overshoot themselves into all lewdness, so as they are utterly without control of
themselves, without honesty, without shame, and every man sees them to be as brute beasts, while they themselves perceive nothing but are, as it were, cast up at random to all shamefulness: it is a rightful punishment laid upon them by God for abusing His liberality and for glutting themselves without any measure. Lo, here is the payment that this unhallowing of God's benefits deserves when we cannot use them according to His ordinance and the rule that He has set by His Word and imprinted in our hearts.
For though we had never heard one word, neither of the Law nor of the Gospel, yet we are sufficiently taught, even by beholding the order of nature, which the very heathen men considered. And here we have to remember that the mischief is doubled when men step aside and give themselves over (from evil to evil) by degrees, and therefore much less ought it to serve to lessen their fault, as we see (a number would have it to do), who, when they cannot deny that they have done amiss, fall to this shift for their last refuge, saying, "Oh, you may see, I was overtaken with the wine; my wits were intoxicated after I had once drunk." Behold, I pray you, how they that cannot start aside one way or another would fain have their drunkenness serve to acquit them before God.
But so little can that stand us in any stead, that, contrariwise, we shall be so much the more guilty. And indeed, if laws were well ordered, a drunken man should have double punishment when he has committed any offense through his unsoberness. And why so?
For he was already worthy of punishment for unhallowing the benefits which God had dedicated to our use, that they might move us to resort unto Him. Whereas God gave them in witness of His fatherly goodness, the party used them after that fashion, and what treachery is that? Drunkards, then, deserve one punishment for that.
Again, forasmuch as they are drawn to evil-doing afar off, as though they had confederated themselves with Satan, they ought to be punished again, for that they will needs excuse and cloak themselves.
For although the laws of men do not always have that consideration, or that men do not observe what ought to be observed, yet, notwithstanding, they that give themselves over after that sort, and let themselves loose into all lewdness through their unsoberness, shall be driven to answer before God for defiling the things which God had sanctified to His service, and wherein He had put a mark of His goodness, to the intent to draw us unto Him by the same.
Then, if all be perverted in our eating and drinking, must we not yield an account before God for our abusing of the benefits that He had bestowed upon us contrary to His intent, as though we were minded to provoke Him willfully to anger? Seeing then that drunkenness makes men so beastly as to forget themselves in such wise that God's image is defaced in them, and they become like dogs, swine, and asses; seeing we see ourselves so disfigured (say I), yes, and worthy to be rejected of God as horrible monsters, and that we do also lay open our own shame and dishonesty before men: ought not every one of us at least to bethink himself advisedly, and to bridle our lusts in such sort when God gives us meat and drink that we do not fall into excess? Yes, and so you see, in effect, what we have to remember upon this point.
And if we cannot be so perfect as were requisite, let us sigh for our faults and, in any wise, beware that we play not the beasts in eating and drinking, that God may be so honored of us as He ought to be, not only by our doing of homage to Him for our life but also by taking continual occasion by our meats to be provoked to resort unto
Him. And let us understand that He gives us even now some taste of His love, to the end that in waiting for the full enjoyment thereof, we