Front matter (continued, part 11)
" ceived thereby, is not wise,"*' Prov. xx. 1. The thro place ; how easily may a sin slip through it into the sensual pleasures have a kind of inchanting power i J 1
OF THE SIN OK DRUNK EN*N'F.SS. 2
wordEph. v. 18. " Be not drunken with wine, wherein is exce Rom. xiii. 13. " Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chamber
*' and wantonness," Isa. v. 11. " Woe to them that rise up earl 3 *' the morning, that they may follow strong drink, that contii
** until night, till wine intlame them :" with many other of dread importance. Now, to startle thee for ever from this abominable ; filthy lust, I shall here propound to thy consideration these ten suinor arguments ; and oh that they might stand in the way, as
angel did in Balaam's, when thou art in the prosecution of thy !
gual pleasures ! And the first is this ;
Argument 1. It should exceedingly dissuade from this sin, to < sider that it is an high abuse of the bounty and goodness of Go* affording us those sweet refreshments, to make our lives comfo ble to us upon earth. In Adam we forfeited all right to all earl as well as heavenly mercies: God might have taken thee from womb, when thou wast a sinner but of a span long, and immedia have sent thee to thine own place; thou hadst no right to a dro water more than what the bounty of God gave thee : And whe he might have thrust thee out of the world as soon as thou car into it, and so all those days of mercy thou hast had on earth m have been spent in howling and unspeakable misery in hell : Bel
the bounty and goodness of God to thee ; I say, l>ehold it, and v der : He hath suffered thee for so many years to live upon the ea which he hath prepared and furnished with all things fit for th\ cessity and delight: Out of the earth, on which thou treadest,
" bringeth forth thy food, and [wine] to make glad thy heart,"^ I civ. 14, 15. And dost thou thus requite the Lord? Hath m armed an enemy to fight against it with its own weapons ? that ever the riches of his goodness, bounty, and long-sufferins
which are arguments to lead thee to repentance, should be abused ! If God had not been so bountiful, thou couldst not 1
been so sinful.
Jrg. 2. It degrades a man from the honour of his creation, equalizeth him to the beast that perisheth : Wine is said to away the heart, Hos. iv. 11. i, e. the msdom and ingenuity man, and so brutifies him, as Nebuchadnezzar, who lost the 1 of a man, and had the heart of a beast given him, Dan. iv. 32. heart of a man hath its generosity and sprightliness, brave, \ngc spirits in it, capable of, and fitted for noble and worthy actions employments; but his lust effeminates, quenches, and drowns masculine \-igour in the puddle of excess and sensuality : Fc
800 A SOBER CONSIDERATION
beast is only fitted for such low, sensitive, and dreg|
Thou hast something of the angel, and something of thee; thy soul partakes of the nature of angels, thy nature of beasts. Oh f how many pamper the heim starve the angel ? God, in the first chapter, put all the subjection to thee; by this lust thou puttest thyself in the creature, and art brought under its power, 1 Coi
God had given thee the head or feet of a beast, oh ! w wouldst thou have esteemed it ? and is it nothing to hi of a beast ? Oh ! consider it sadly.
. Arg. 3. It is a sin by which thou greatly wrongest and own body. The body is the souTs instrument ; it is as to a skilful artificer; this lust both dulls and spoils it, utterly unfit for any service of him that made it. Thy b cus piece, not made by a word of command, as other ci by a word of counsel ; ^' I am fearfully and wonderful)
*' curiously wrought," saith the Psalmist, Psal. cxxxix. vulgar, Acupictus sum. Painted as with needle-work of di like a garment richly embroidered. Look how many many wonders ! There are miracles enough, saith one, 1 and foot to fill a volume. There is, saith another, such c manship in the eye, that upon the first sight of it, some 1 beenforced to acknowledge a God ; especially that fifth i eye is wonderful, whereby, (as a learned * author obser fereth from all other creatures, who have but four; on eye downward, a second to hold it forward, a third to n right-hand, a fourth to the left ; but none to turn it upw hath. Now, judge in thyself; Did God frame such a c and enliven it with a soul, which is a spark, a ray of h whose motions are so quick, various, and indefatigable, ^ of reason are so transcendent ; did God, thinkest thou, sei
curious peace, the top and glory of the creation, the index of the whole world, Eccl. xii. 2. did God, I say, sen( picture of his own perfection, to be but as a strainer fc drinks, a spunge to suck in wine and beer ? Or canst tho the abuse and destruction of it ? By this excess thou fillc numerable diseases, vmder which it languisheth ; and at
like a lamp, is extinguished, being drowned with too muc
* .finite diseases are begotten by it, (saith Zanchius) ; henc
* plexies, gouts, palsies, sudden death, trembling of th
* legs;' herein they bring Cain's curse upon themselvei
OF THE SIX OF DttUNKENXESS.
and aches are the fruits of thy intemperance and excess ! " Who t *' woe ? Who hath sorrow ? Who hath contentions ? Who Y « babbling? AVIio hath wounds without cause? Who hath redi " of eyes ? Thev that tarrv long at the wine, they that go to $ " mixed wine," Prov. xxiii. 20, 30. By this enumeration and n ner of itiferrogation,he seems to make it a difficult thing to recount miseries that drunkenness loads the outward man with ; for loo vermin abound where there is store of corn, so do diseases in the dies of drunkards, where crudities do so abound. Now, methii if thou hast no regard to thy poor soul, or the glory of God, yet s a seneible argument as this, from thy body, should move thee.
Arg. 4. Drunkenness wastes and scatters thine estate, povert; tends excess ; the drunkard shall be clothed with rags, and brou to a morsel of bread. Solomon hath read thy fortune, Prov. 17. " He that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich ;" luxury beggary are seldom far asunder. When Diogenes heard a drunka house cried to be sold ; ' I thought (quoth he) it would not be 1 * e'er he vomited up his house also.' The Hebrew word :i;iv the Greek word asuiria, which signifies luxury ; the former is c pounded of two words, which signify, Thou shall be poor ; and latter signifies the losing of the possession of that good which i our hand. " The drunkard and the glutton shall surely com
" poverty," Prov. xxiii. 21. In the Hebrew it is, he shall be di herited or dispossessed. It doth not only dispossess a man of his son, which is a rich and fair inheritance given to him by God, it also dispossesses him of his estate: It wastes all tliat either provident care of thv progenitors, or the blessing of God upon tl own industrv, hath obtained for thee. And how -will this sting an adder, when thou shalt consider it ? Apicus the Roman, heai that there were seven hundred crowns only remaining of a fair esi that his father had left him, fell into a deep melancliolv, and fear ■want, hanged himself, saith Seneca. And not to mention the m ries and sorrows they bring hereby upon their families, drinking
tears, yea, the blood of their wives and children : Oh ! what an count will they give to God, when the reckoning day comes ! . heve it, sirs, there is not a shilling of your estates, but God reckon with you for the expence thereof. If you have spent it ui your lusts, whilst the necessity of your families, or the poor, cai upon you for it ; I should be loth to have your account to m£ for a iliousand times more than ever you possessed. O woful pence, that is followed with such dreadful reckonings !
SOS A SOBER COKSIDERATIOK
or women. So Psal. Ixix. 12. " They that sit in tht
*' against me, and I am the song of drunkards," i. e. and vilest of men, as the opposition plainly shews ; opposed to them that sit in the gate, that is honoui The Lord would have his people shun the society of s not to eat with them, 1 Cor. v. 11. Yea, the scripturt with atheism ; they are such as have lost the sense an of the day of judgment; mind not another world, nor for the coming of the Lord, Mat. xxiv. 27, 28. He s delayeth his coming, and then falls a drinking with t The thoughts of that day will make them leave their i
cups will drown the thoughts of such a day. And "v* contempt, shame and infamy which the Spirit of God on the head of this sin cause thee to abhor it ? Do
yea, moral persons, abhor the drunkard ? Oh ! methir that attends it, should be as a fence to keep thee from
Arg: 6. Sadly consider, there can be nothing of tl Spirit in a soul that is under the dominion of this li the first discovery of the grace of God, the soul reno
Ternment of sensuality : " The grace of God that brin^
*' teacheth men to live soberly," Tit. ii. 11, 12. Thj first effects. Drunkenness indeed may be found anx
that are lost in the darkness of ignorance ; but it ma named among the children of the day. " They that
*' are drunken in the night ; but let us that are of the d 1 Thess. v. 7, 8. And the apostles often oppose win*
rit as things incompatible, Epb. v. 18. " Be not drui
*' wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit." " Sensual, not having the Spirit."" Now what a dreai ation is this.? " If any man have not the Spirit of Chr
*' of his," Rom. viii. 9. Sensual persons have not Christ, and so can be none of his. It is true, Noah, once fell into this sin ; but, as Theodoret saith, and proceeded ab ineorperientia^ non ah intemperantia, fro perience of the force and power of the grape, not fr ance ; and, besides, we find not that ever he was ag with that sin ; but thou knowest it, and yet persistest creature ! the Spirit of Christ cannot dwell in thee. 1 thee to lay it to heart sadly !
Arg. 7. It is a sin over which many direful woes an( in the word, like so many lowVing clouds, ready to pc
OF THE SI\' OF DRUNKENNESS. I
too long to be enumerated here. Now, consider what a fearful th it is to be under these woes of God ! Sinner, I beseech thee, do make li^ht of them, for they will fall heavy ; assure thyself not of them shall fall to the ground ; they will all take place upon tl except thou repent.
There are woes of men, and woes of God : God's woes are t woes, and make their condition woful, to purpose, on whom t fall. Other woes, as one saith, do but touch the skin, but tl strike the soul ; other woes are but temporal, these are eten others do onlv part betwixt us and our outward comforts, these twixt God and us for ever.
Arg. 8. Drunkenness is a leading sin, which has a great reti and attendance of other sins waiting on it; it is hke a sudden h flood, which brings a great deal of dirt with it. So that loot faith excels among the traces, because it enlivens, actuates, and g Strength to them, so is this amongst sms. It is not so much a sp< «in against a single precept of God, as a general violation of the Wi law, saith accurate Amesius. It doth not only call off the guard, warms and quickens all other lusts, and so exposes the soul to be stituted by them. (1.) It gives occasion, yea, is the real cans many contentions, and fatal quarrels, Prov. xxiii. 29. " Who 1
*' woe .'' Who hath sorrow .? Who hath [contentions,] babbl
" wounds without cause ? They that tarry long at the wine," Contentions and wounds are the ordinary effects of drunken meetii When reason is deposed, and lust heated, what will not mer
tempt .'* (2.) Scoffs and reproaches of the ways and people of C Psal. Ixix. 12. " David was the song of the drunkards."" (3.) ; the great incendiary of lust : You shall find rioting and drunken joined with chambering and wantonness, Rom. xiii. iJi. Nunq.
ego ehrium castum putabo, saith Hieroni ; I will never thir drunkard to be chaste. Solomon plainly tells us what the issue
be, Prov. xxiii. 33. " Thine eyes shall behold a strange woman,
" thy heart shall utter perverse things," speaking of the drunk It may be called Gad, for a troop foHoweth it. Hence one aptly < it. The deviPs bridle, by which he turneth the sinner which wa pleases ; he that is overcome by it, can overcome no other sin.
Arg. 9. But if none of the former considerations can prevai hope these two last may, unless all sense and tenderness be lost ( sider, therefore, in the 9th place, that drunkards are in scrip
marked out for hell ; the characters of death are upon them. "■ shall find them pinioned with other sons of death, 1 Cor. vi. 9,
A SOBER CONSIDERATION, kc.
Lord, how are guilty sinners able to face such a text a soul ! darest thou for a superfluous cup, adventure to d pure unmixed wrath ? O think when the wine sparkles and gives its colour, think, I say, what a cup of trenib hand of the Lord for thee. Thou wilt not now believ
but the day is coming, when thou shalt know the p brutish pleasures. Oh ! it will then sting like an addd( short-lived beastly pleasure is the price for which thou si
and rivers of pleasure that are at God's right hand. Obj. But I hope I shall repent^ and then this text a to my salvation.
■ Sol. True ; if God shall give thee repentance, it coul in the last place, to awaken thee thoroughly, and start conscience, which sensuality hath brawned and caute: tell thee,
Arg. 10. That it is a sin out of whose power few, or rescued and reclaimed. On this account it was that St. Au| it X)L\e pit of hell. He that is addicted to this sin becon saith a * reverend divine ; for seldom or never have I kn ard reclaimed. And its power to hold the soul in sul lies in two things especially : (1.) As it becomes habitua are not easily broken. Be pleased to view an example
Prov. xxiii. 35. " They have stricken me, shalt thou sj
" not sick ; they have beaten me, and I felt it not. "^ " awake .'' I will seek it yet again." (2.) As it " tal " heart," Hos. iv. 11. that is, the understanding, reason ity of a man, and so makes him incapable of being reclaii sel. Upon this account it was that Abigail would not more to Nabal, until the wine was gone out of him, 1 S 37. Plainly intimating, that no wholesome counsel ca: the wine be gone out. When one asked Cleostratus.
were not ashamed to be drunken, he tartly replied, '
* you ashamed to admonish a drunkard ?'' Intimating man would cast away an admonition upon such an one. only renders them incapable of counsel for the time, but besots and infatuates them ; which is a very grievous stri
upon them, making way to their eternal ruin. So then the whole what a dangerous gulph the sin of drunkcnnc
you, for the Lord's sake, and by all the regard you souls, bodies, and estates, beware of it. O consider th ments I have here produced against it. I should have
THE AET OF TRESERVIKG THE FKUITS OF THE LIPS. «
Drink not the third glass, which thou canst not tame
When once it is within thee ; but before
^[ay'st rule it as thou list : and pour the shame
VVhiih it will pour to thee upon the floor. It is most just to throw that on the ground, Which would throw me there, if I kept the round.
He that is drunken, may his mother kill,
Lie with his sister : he hath lost the reins ;
Is outlawed by himself; all kind of ill Did with the liquor slide into the veins. The drunkard forfeits man, and doth divest
All worldly right, save what he has by beast.
Shall I, to please another's wine-sprung mind.
Lose all my own ? God has given me a measure Short of his Can, and body ; must I find
A pain in that wherein he finds a pleasure ?
Stay at the third glass ; if thou lose thy hold. Then thou art modest, but the wine grows bold,
If reason move not gallants quit the room,
(All in a shipwreck shift their several way.) Let not a common ruin thee intomb :
Be not a beast in courtesies ; but stay, Stay at the third glass, or forego the place:
Wine, above all things, doth God's stamp deface.
CAUTION II.
J. HE second evil I shall deal with is the evil of the tongue, wl as St. James saith, is full of deadly poison, oaths, curses, blaspheir and this poison it scatters up and down the world in all places ; an tamed member that none can rule, Jam. iii. T, 8. The fiercest of be
have been tamed by man, as the apostle there observes, M'hich is a : of his old superiority and dominion over them ; but this is an un member that none can tame but he that made it ; no beast so fierce crabbed as this is. It may be, I may be bitten by it for my lal and endeavours to put a restraint upon it : but I shall adventui
My design is not to dishonour, or exasperate you ; but if my fi fulness to God and you should accidentally do so, I cannot help 1
Friends, Providence oftentimes confines many of you toge
f 06 THE AllT OF PRESERVING THE FHUITS OF THE 1
do you daily behold, who go down into the deeps ? O wl employment is here for vour tongues ! how should the of all his wonders? How should you call upon each oth
did, Psal. Ixvi. 16. "Come hither, and, I will tell yo *' hath done for my soul," at such a time, in such an How should you call upon one another to pay " the vo *' have uttered in your distress?" Thus should one pro^ in this angelic work, as one lively bird sets the w chirping.
But tell me. Sirs, should a man come aboard you at se you as Christ did of those two disciples going to Emmaus
17. " What manner of communication is this that ye " way .?" O what a sad account would he have from e It may be he should find one Jesting-, and another swea reviling' godliness, and the professors of it ; so that it little hell for a serious Christian to be confined to your sc is not, I am confident, the manner of all. We have a more sober seamen, and blessed be God for them ; but
stands the case with most of you. O what stuff is here : professing Christianity, and bordering close upon the eternity as you do ?
It is not my purpose to write of all the diseases of the would fill a volume, and is inconsistent with my inten Who can recount the evils of the tongue ? The apostle !
" a world of iniquity," Jam. iii. 6. And if there be a wi one member, who can number the sins of all the membe tins reckons as many sins of the tongue as there are ] alphabet. And it is an observable note that one hath iii. 13, 14. That when Paul anatomizeth the natural m insisteth longer upon the organs of speech, than all the bers; "Their throat is an open sepulchre, with their t
** have used deceit : the poison of asps is under thei
*' mouth is full of cursing and bitterness." But, to be short, we find the Spirit of God in scriptui the tongue to a tree, Prov. xv. 4. " A wholesome tongu " life." And words are the fruit of the tree, Isa. Ivii. 1^ " the fruit of the lips." Some of these trees bear pre and it is a lovely sight to behold them laden with them sons, Prov. xxv. 11. "A word fitly spoken, is like appli
*' pictures of silver." Such a tongue is a tree of life. Ot trees bear evil fruit, grapes of Sodom, and clusters of
THE ART OF PRESERVING THE FRUITS OF THE LIPS. 3(
Spirit of God prescribes an excellent way to season our words, ai keep them sweet and sound, that they may neither wither nor becon idle and sapless, or putritV and become rotten, as profane words ai Col. iv. 6. " Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned wi
" siilt, that you may know how to answer every man." Oh ! if ti
salt of grace' were once cast into the fouutahi, the heart-streams mu needs become more savoury and pleasant, as the waters of Mar; when thev were healed. My present work is to attempt the cure this double evil of idle zoords and profane oaths, whereof thousan among vou are deeply guilty. I shall begin with the first, viz.
I. IDLE WORDS. That is, useless chat, unprofitable tal that is not referred any way to the glory of God. This is a cor nion evil, and little regarded by most men ; but yet a sin of sever aggravations than the most imagine : light words weigh heavy
God's balance.
Arg. 1. For, first. The evil of them is exceedingly aggravated 1 this : they abuse and pervert the tongue, that noble member, fro that employment and use which God by the law of creation designi it to. God gave not to man the organs and power of speech, (whi<
is his excellency above the beasts) to serve a passion or vain humou to vent the froth and vanity of his spirit ; but to extol the Create and reader him the praise of all his admirable and glorious worl^ For though the creation be a curious well-tuned instrument, yet mj is the musician that must touch it, and make the melody. This w
the end of God in forming those instruments and organs: but no liereby they are subject to Satan and lust, and employed to the di lionour of God who made them. God is pleased to suspend tl power of speech (as we see in children) uatil reason begins to bt in them : they have not the liberty of one, until they have the u of the other; which plainly shews, that God is not willing to ha^ our words run waste.
Arg. 2. It is a sinful wasting of our precious time ; and that pu a further aggravation upon it Consider, sirs, the time of life but a little spot betwixt two eternities. The long-^uifering Gc
heels about those glorious celestial bodies over your heads in
nstant revolution to beget time for you ; and the preciousness ( ery minute thereof results from its use and end : it is intended ac afforded as a space to you to repent in. Rev. ii. 21. And theiefoi great things depend upon it : no less than your eternal happiness ( misery hangs upon those precious opportunities. JEvery uiinute < it hath an influence into etemitv. How would the damned valu
ri 1 <
308 THE ART OF PRESERVIXG THE FRUITS OF THE
Arg. 3. It is a sin that few are setisible of as they are and therefore the more dangerous. It is commonly coi that witliout checks of conscience. Other sins, as mun
tery, though they be horrid sins, yet are but seldom co when they are, conscience is startled at the horrid ness c except they be prodigious wretches indeed, dare make ] But now lor idle and vain words, there are innumeral these every day, and few regard them. The intercc the heart and tongue is quick ; they are quickly comn
easily fox'gotten.
Arg. 4. And then, 4thly, They have mischievous others. How long doth an idle word, or foolish jest,
Blinds, and become an occasion of much sin to them ? ^
vanity of thy spirit, Avhich thy tongue so freely vents ar companions, may be working in their minds when tli dust, and so be transmitted Irora one to another; for more is requisite than an objective existence of those their memories. And thus mayest thou be sinning i of thy companions, when thou art turned into dust. A reason that Suarez gives for a general judgment, after n ed their particular judgment immediately after their dei
* (saith he) after this, multitudes of sins by their mean * mitted in the world, for which they must yet be judj
* measure of wrath.' So that look as many of the pre of God, now in glory, have left many weighty and ho hind them, by which many thousands of souls have b and God glorified on earth, after they had left it: S( that vanity upon the minds of others behind thee, by be dishonoured to many generations. And then,
II. For PROFANE OATHS, the corrupt fruit heart ; oh ! how common are these among you ? Ye; swearing is so strengthened in some, that they have los conscience of the sin. Now, oh ! that I might preva repent of this wickedness, and break the force of this (
among you ! will you but give me the reading of a fe and weigh with the reason of men, what you read ? 1 hearken to counsel, it is a fatal sign, 2 Cor. ii. 15, 16 mourn for this obstinacy hereafter, Prov. v. 12, 13. that evil that scorns the remedy. And if you have p; it, the Lord give you an heart to consider what you i thf> rminfjpls of God : or else it were better thine eves
THE ART OF PRESEttVlNC THE FRCITS OF THE LIPS. J
: •i»rious; Mai. i. 14. " I am a great king, and my name is dread
• among the Heathen." The heathens would not ordinarily m tion the names of such as they reverenced. Suetonius saith, t Augustus prohibited the common use of his name : he thought it
indignity to have his name tossed up and down in every one's mot Yea, says Dr. Willet on Exotl. xx. it was an use among them keep secret such names as they would have in reverence. They di not mention the name of Demogorgon, whom they held to be the i god : they thought when he was named, the earth would treml Also the name of Mercurius Tresmegistus, was very sparingly us because of that reverence the people had for him. Now, consic shall poor worms be so tender of preserving the reverence of tl names ! Shall not heathens dare to use the names of their idols ; i shall the sacred and dreadful name of the true God be thus band
up and down by tongues of his own creatures? Will not God avenged for these abuses of his name ? Be confident, it shall one ( be sanctified upon you in judgment, because ye did not sanctif according to your duty.
jirg. 2. Swearing is a part of the worship of God ; and therel profane swearing can be no less than the profanation of his worsl and robbing him of all the glory he has thereby ; Deut. vi.
"' Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt sw
*' by his name." So Jer. iv. 2. " Thou shalt swear the Lord " eth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness.'' If a man sw by God after this manner, God is exceedingly glorified there Now, that you may see what revenue of glorv God hath from i
part of his worship, and how it becomes a part of Divine worship, ^ must know then an oath is nothing else but the askivg" or deshin Divine testimony, Jbr the confirmation of the truth of our testimoi
Heb. vi. 16. " For men verily swear by the greater ; and an oath " [confirmation] is to them an end of all strife." The corrupliot human nature by the fall has made man such a false and fickle ci
ture, that his single testimony cannot be sufficient security for anot especially in weighty cases, to rest upon ; and therefore in sweari he calleth God for a witness of the truth of what he affirms, or j niiseth : I say, calleth God to be a witness of the truth of what saith, because he is truth itself, and cannot lie, Heb. vi. IS. >
this calling for, or asking of a testimony from God, makes an o
become a part of God's worship, and gives him a great deal of gl and honour ; for hereby he that sweareth acknowledgeth his on sciency and infallible truth and rixrhfeousness. His omniscienr
310 THE AllT OF PllESERVIXG TltE FRUITS OF THE
I, by whose name I swear, cannot deceive. And, la; teousness is acknowledged in an oath : for he that s' either expressly or impliciti/, put himself \mder the cu of God, if he swear falsely. Every oath hath an exei precation in it, Neh. x. 29. " They entered into a <
" oath, to walk in God's law." And so 2 Cor. i. 23. " for a record upon my soul." And the usual fori Testament was, " The Lord do so to me, and more hereby God hath the glory of his righteousness and him by the creature, and therefore it is a choice part worship, or of that homage which a creature oweth to h if this be so, then how easily may the sin of rash and be hence argued and aggravated ? The more excellen by an institution of God, by so much more horrid an is the abuse thereof O how often is the dreadful M
ven and earth called to witness to frivolous things ! ai witness of our rage and fury ! as 1 Sam. xiv. 39. Is ii to rob him of his peculiar glory, and subject poor soul and wrath, who has said, " He will be a swift witness - Mai. iii. 5. Your tongues are nimble in committing God will be swift in punishing it.
Ar^\ 3. It is a sin which God hath severely threatei
and that with temporal and corporal plagues : " For
" oaths, the land mourns," Hos. iv. 2, 3. That is, heavy judgment of God upon whole nations, under wh mourn. And in Zech. v. 2, 3, 4. You have there a i
i. e. a catalogue of judgments and woes, the length tl
cubits ,• (i. e. ten yards) to set out the multitude of w in it : it is a long catalogue, and afiymg roll, to deni ness of it : it flies towards the house of the swearer ; it
The judgments that are written in it linger not, but an to be delivered. And this flying roll, full of dreadful i enters into the house of the swearer ; and H shall therein
the I^ord ; it shall cleave to his family ; none shall ( woes from him : and it shall consume the timber the
stones thereof, i. e. bring utter subversion,* ruin,, and his house. O dreadful sin ! what a desolation doth it
mouths are full of oaths, and your houses shall be f Woe to that wretched family, into which this flying ro]
Woe, I say, to the wretched inhabitants thereof! " ' *' the Lord (saith Solomon) is in the house of the wi(
THE, ART OF PBESEKVING THE FRUITS OF THE LlfS.
laitl under the foundation of them, which, when justice shall set fir O what work will it make^ woe to the inhabitants thereof! Well t
break off thissan by repentance, unless you intend to ruin your fam: and bring ail the curses of Gofl into your houses. If you hav pity for yourselves, yet pity your posterity ; have mercy for ; wives and children ; do not ruin all for the indulgence of a luj
Arg. 4. But that is not all; it brings soul-judgments and s-piri plagues upon you : it brings Ijell along 's^-ith it. And if thou be afraid to sin, vet methinks, thou shouidst be afraid to burn : if
love of God can work nothing upon thy brawny heart, yet, methi the terrors of the Lord should startle and affright it. To this ; pose, I beseech you to weigh these scriptures ; and methinks, ui
God hath lost all his audiority with you, and hell all its terror should startle you. The first is that dreadful scripture, James v
*' But above all things, my brethren, swear not ; neither by hea " neither by the earth, neither by any other oath, but let your
1^ *' be yea ; and your na v, nay ; lest ye fall into [condemnation.'"] \§ view this text seriouslv ! methinks it should be like the fingers
came forth and wrote upon the wall that dreadful sentence that char the countenance of a king, and that in the height of a frolic humi and made his knees smite together. Mark, [above all things^ a fon vehemencyand earnestness, like that, Eph. vi. 16. "But above
taking the shield of faith.~ As faith hath a prelation there befon the graces, so swearing here before all other vices. [Szcea?- Jiot,^ vainli/, rashly, profanely ; for otherwise it is a law ful thing, and a ]
of God's worship, as I have shewed : but swear not vain oaths, by creatures, heaven, or earth, Sec. which is to advance the creature the room of God : a sin to which the Jews were much addicted. I
" let your yea, be yea ; and your nay, nay C i. e. accustom yourse to short and plain affirmations and negations, to a simple and can expression of your minds. And the thundering argument that bs
it, is this, \lestyejhll into condemnation ;] i. e. lest for these things
Judge of heaven and earth pass a sentence of condemnation to hell u]
you. O sirs ! dare you touch with this hot iron 't Dare you from hei forth commit that sin, diat you know will bring you under the c demnation and judgment of God ? Do you know what it is for a s
to be cast at God's bar ( Did you never see a poor malefactor triet the assizes, and observe how his face gathers paleness, how his 1 tremble, and death displays its colours in his cheeks, when sente
is given upqn him r But what is that to God's condemnation ? W IS a gallows to hell ? Another text I would recommend to your o
312 THE ART OF PRESERVING THE FRflTS OF THE
over to answer to God for them. O terrible sentence
can bear it, or stand before it ! " Blessed is the man (
to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity :" Surely th that man to whom God will impute them : and to the
shall all be imputed, if he break not oft' his sin by repent a Christ the sooner. Oh, how darest thou think of
the Lord with the guilt of all thy sins upon thee .'' would administer the very spirit of joy into one senter
sinner, Mat. ix. 2. He said, " Son, be of good cheer.
*' forgiven." And when God would contract the sum into one word, he saith, " His sins shall lie down witl
*' dust," Job XX. 11. Ah, soul ! one of these days t laid on thy death-bed, or see the waves that shall entor ing and roaring upon every side ; and then thou wilt other thoughts of the happiness that lies in remission of hast now. Observe the most incorrigible sinner then ;
sighs and groans, and cries. Ah, Lord ! and must I di see how the tears trickle down his cheeks, and his h burst within him. Why, what is the matter ? Oh ! i not pardon him, he holds him guilty ! If he were sure forgiven, then he could die: but, oh ! to appear befon them, appals him, daunts him, kills the very heart
would fain cry for mercy, but conscience stops his mou conscience, how canst thou move that tongue to God mercy, that hath so often rent and torn his glorious nj and curses .'' Sirs, I pray you do not make light of they will look wishfully upon you one of these days, e vent it by sound conversion.
Arg\ 5. And then, lastly, to name no more, I pray that a custom of vain words and profane oaths, is as pi tion and discovery of an unregenerate soul, as any i this is a sure sign thou art none of Chrisf s, nor hast an with the promises and privileges of his people ; for by 1 ture distinguisheth the state of saints and sinners, Eccl.
*' is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked ; *' and to the unclean ; to him that sacrificeth, and to
*' crificeth not : as is the good, so is the sinner : and 1
*' eth, as he that feareth an oath." Mark, he that s he that feareth an oath, do as manifestly distinguish t
God from wicked men, as clean and unclean, righteou sacrificing and not sacrificing. The fruit of the tongue
THE ART OF PRESERVING THE FRt'ITS OF THE LIPS. 3
" wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment ; for the law of i "' Lord Is in his heart"^ To this sense wo must understand tl scripture, Mat. xii. 37. "By thy words thou shalt be justified, s
*' by thy words thou shalt be condemned.'" Certainly justificat and condemnation, in the day of judgment sliall not pass upon merely for the good or bad words we have s}X)kcn ; but according
the state of the person and frame of the heait. But the meaning that our words shall justify or condemn us in that day, as evidenc( the state and frame of the soul. We use to say, such witnesses ha ed a man ; the meaning is, the evidence they gave cast and c demned him. O think seriously of this ; if words evidence the si of the soul, what a woful state must thy soul needs be in, v h mouth overflows with oaths and curses ! How manv witnesses '
be brought in, to cast thee in the great day .'' " Your own ton< " shall then fall ujx)n you," as the expression is, Psal. Ixiv. 8. A out of your own moutli God will fetch abundant evidence to c demn you. And thus I have opened unto you the evil of vain wo ar.d profane oaths ; and presented to your view their several aggra tions. If by these things there be a relenting pang upon thine he and a serious resolution of reformation, then I shall recommend tl:
few helps or means to thy perusal, and conclude this head : And first help is this,
Htlj) 1. Seriously fix in thy thoughts that scripture. Mat. xii.
" But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, t " shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment." O k sound in thine ears day and night ! O ponder them in thy heart !
sai/ unto 1/ou] I that have always been in the Father's bosom, anc fully know his mind, that I am constituted the Judge of quick i dead, and do fully understand therule of judgment, and the whole j cess thereof, I say, and do assure you, that [cverz/ idle ziord that ? shall speak,] i. e. every word that hath not a tendency and refere to the glory of God, though there be no other obliquity of evi them than this, that they want a good end : how much more th scurrilous words, bloody oaths, and blasphemies ? [Men shall g^ve account thereof;] that is, shall be cast and condemned to suffer wrath of God for them ; as appears by that parallel scripture, 1 ] IV. 4, 5. For as the learned observe, there is plainly a mefalepsl these words ; the antecedent to give an account, is put for the co? quejit, punishment, and condemnation to hell-fire: the certainty wh( of admits but of this one exception, viz. intervenient repentai or pardon obtained through the blood of Christ here before vou be i
S14 THE ART OF PRESERVlNe THE FIiriTS OF THE
Help 2. Consider before you speak, and be not rash t( without knowledge. He that speaks what he thinks no pocritically ; and he that thinks not what to speak, spea rately. You have cause to weigh your words before you by your tongue ; for whether you do, or do not, the Lc
them : records are kept of them, else you could not be account for them, as I shewed you, you must.
Help 3. Resign up your tongue to God every day, ar
guide and keep it. So did David, Psal. cxli. 3. " Se;
" Lord, before my mouth, and keep thou the door of m him to keep you from provocations and temptations; < into them, intreat him for strength to rule your spirits i vou may not be conquered by temptations.
Help 4. But above all, labour to get your souls clean; fied by faith, possessed with saving and gracious princip means will be ineffectual without this. O see the vilent
ture, and the necessity of a change to pass upon it ! F: tree good, and then his fruit good : a new nature will words and actions. To bind your souls with vom's an( while you are strangers to a regenerate work, is to bind green withs, whilst his locks remain upon his head. I this with the advice of that divine poet, Mr. George Hei be, it may affect thee, and run in thy thoughts when tli
Take not his name, who made thy mouth, in vaii
It gets thee nothing, and hath no excuse. Lust and wine plead a pleasure ; avarice gain :
But the cheap swearer, through his open sluic<
Lets his soul run nought, as little fearing.
"Were I an Epicure, I could hate swearing.
When thou dost tell another's jest, therein Omit the oaths which true wit cannot need :
Pick out of tales the mii-th, but not the sin.
He pares the apple that will cleanly feed.
Play not away the virtue of that name, Which is thy best stake when grief makes t
The cheapest sins most dearly punish'd are, Because to shun them also is so cheap; For we have wit to mark them, and to spare.
TEE harlot's face IN THE SCniPTFRE-GLASS.
CAUTION III.
1 HE next danger 1 shall give you warning of, is the sin of t cleanness; with which I fear too many of the rude and looser son
seamen defile themselves ; and possibly, the temptations to this are advantaged, and strengthened upon them more than others, their condition and employments. Let no man be offended tha
here ffive warning of this evil : I intend to asperse no man's pers or raise up jealousv against any ; but would faithfully discharge i duty to all. and that in all things. It was the complaint of Salvia maiiv hundred years ago, that he could not speak against the vice; men, but one or other would thus object ; * There he meant n
' he hit me :' and so storm and fret. Alas (as he repheth) it is i * we that speak to you, but your own conscience ; we speak to
' order, but conscience speaks to the person.' I shall use no otl apology in this case. That this sin is a dreadful gulph, a quick-sa that hath sucked in, and destroyed thousands, is truly apparent b< from scripture and experience. Solomon tells us, Prov, xxii. 14. tha
is a " deep ditch, into which such as are abhorred of the Lord si
" fall." Oh ' the multitudes of dead that are there ! and if so. cannot in duty to God, or in love to you, be silent, where the-dani is so oreat. It is both needless, and besides mv intention here is
insist largely upon the explication of the particulars in which unclei ness is distributed : the more ordinary and conunon sins of this ki are known by the names of adultery and fornication. The lattei when single persons come together out of the state ofmarriage. 1 former is, when at least one of the persons committing uncleannes;
contracted in marriage. This now is the evil I shall "wafn you And, that thou mayest never fall into this pit, I shall endeavour hedge and fence up the way to it by these ensuing arguments : ai oh ! that the hght of every argument may be powerfully reflecl upon your conscience ! Many men are wise in generals, but very vj
£y hia'Myi(sij.(,iz, in the reasonings or imaginations, as the apostle ca them, Rom. i. 21. i. e. in xheir practical injerenccs. They are go at speculation, but bunglers at application : but it is truth in t particulars, that, like an hot iron, pierces ; and, oh ! that you m find these to be such in your soul ! To that end consider,
Arg. 1. The names and titles by which this sin is k^own in scr ture are very vile and base. The Spirit of God, doubtless, hath p such odious names upon it, on purpose to deter and affright men fr( it. In general it is called lust ; and so (as one notes) it beareth t
S16 THE harlot's face IN THE SCRIPTURE-CL
persons, such as are not fit for the society of men, suci
hissed out of alJ men's company : they are rather to h
beasts than iTien. Yea, the scripture compares them of beasts, even to dogs. When Ishbosheth charged thi« ner, 2 Sam. iii. 8. " Am I a dog's head (saith he) that *' me with a fault concerning this woman ?" And ii 18. the hire of a whore, and the " price of a dog," are The expression of this lust in words or gesture, is cal Jer V. 8. Even as fed horses do, that scatter their 1 ously Or, if the scripture speaks of them as men, them but the external shape of men, not the uiiderstai Among the Jews they were called fools in Israel 2
and so Prov. vi. 82. " Whoso committeth adulter'y w *' lacketh understanding." And sinners, Luke vii 3' " hold a woman that was a [sinner,]'' that is, an emin pinner: by which term the scripture decyphers an uncle if, among sinners, there were none of such a prodio-io
sin as they. And we find, that when the Spirit of'^G forth any sm by an odious name, he calls it adultery; called adultery, Ezek. xvi. 32. And indeed this spiri poreal adultery oftentimes are found in the same pei that give themselves up to the one, are, by the right God given up to the other, as it is too manifestly and f emphfied in the world. So earthly-mindedness hath t upon It on purpose to affright men from it, James iv. ^ tamly God would never borrow the name of this sin t evil of other sins. If it were not most vile and abomi called thesm of the Gentiles, or heathens, 1 Thess. iv. t that we could say, it were only among them that knc How then are you able to look these scriptures in the blush ? O what a sin is this ! Art thou willing to be fools, dogs, sinHers, heathens, and take thy lot with hath planted that affection of shame in thy nature to b against such filthy lusts; it is a sin that hath filthiness
to defile the tongue that mentions it, Eph. v. 3.
Jrg. 2. It is a sin that the God of heaven hath ofte and severely condemned in the word, which abundantly abhorrence of it. You have prohibition upon prol threatening upon threatening in the word against it; E " Thou shalt not commit adultery." This was deli mount Sinai with the greatest solemnity and terror bv 1 ItoH Inmcolf T.,«v, +„ 1 1 ,1 ^. 11 • '.
THE HARLOT S FACE IN THE SCKIPTURE-GLASS. SI
to have so many words of God, and such terrible ones too as mo
of those are, to' be brought in and pleaded against thy soul in th dav ! Mountains and hills may depart, but chese words shall not d part : heaven and earth shall pass away, but not one tittle of the woi ■|[Yhall pass awav. Believe it, sinner, as sure as the heavens are over tl
"head, and the" earth under thy feet, they shall one day take hold
thee, though we poor wonns'who plead them with thee, die and p rish : Zech. i. 5, 6. The Lord tells us it shall not fall to the groun "Which is a borrowed speech from a dart that is flung with a we; hand; it »oes not home to the mark, but falls to the ground by t
way. None of these words shall so fall to the ground.
Jrg. 3. It is a sin that defiles and destroys the body ; 1 Cor. • 18. " He that committeth adultery, sinneth against his own lx>dj In most other sins the body is the imtncmevf, here it is the object gainst which the sin is committed : that body of thine, which shoi]
be the temple of the Holy Ghost, is turned into a sty of filthine;
yea, it not onlv defiles^ but destroys it Job calls it a " fire that bui " eth to destruction,'' Job xxxi. 12. or as the Septuagint reads it fire that burneth in all the members. It is a sin that God ha plagued with strange and terrible diseases ; that Morbus Gallici and Sudor Anglicus, and that Plica Polonica, whereof you may re
in Bolton's four last things, page SO. and Sclater on Rom. i. {
These were judgments sent immediately by God's own hand, to c rect the new sins and enormities of the world ; for they seem to j the best physicians besides their books. O how terrible is it to groaning under the sad effects of this sin ! As Solomon tells us, Pr V. 11, " And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy be
are consumed." To this sense some expound that terrible text, H
xiii. 4 " Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled ; 1
*' whoremongers and adulterers God will judge ;" i. e. with some markable judgment inflicted on them in this world : if it escape punishment of men, it shall not escape the vengeance of God. A
with what comfort may a man lie down upon a sick-bed, when sickness can be looked upon as a fatherly visitation coming in mere But thou that shortenest thy life, and bringeth sickness on thyself
such a sin, art the devil's martyr ; and to whom canst thou turr ■uch a day for comfort ?
Arg. 4. Consider what an indelible blot it is to thy nature, wh can never be wiped away ; though thou escape with thy life, vet
one says, thou shalt be burnt in the hand, yea, branded in the f( head. What a foul scare is that upon the face of David hims
818 THE harlot's face in THS SCRIl*TURE-(tL>
tending it should be a preservative from it. Indeed th( to it by hopes of secresy and concealment ; but thoug sins lie hid, and possibly shall never come to light unt manifestation of all hidden things, yet this is a sin that ly discovered. Under the law, God appointed an ( way for the discovery of it, Numb. v. 13. And to this vidence of God doth often very strangely bring it to li^ be a deed of darkness : the Lord hath many times broi sons, either by terror of conscience, phrensy, or some to be the publishers and proclaimers of their own sha serve this, said the reverend Mr. Hildersham on the foi even those that are most cunning to conceal and hide it of the world, yet through the just judgment of God, t pects and condemns them for it : this dashes in pieces, that vessel in which the precious ointment of a good na A fool in Israel shall be thy title ; and even children thee.
Arg. 5. It scatters thy substance, and roots up the : thy estate ; Job xxxi. 12. " It roots up all thy increase " shall be filled with thy wealth, and thy labours sli
*' house, of a stranger,'' Prov. v. 10. " For by means *' woman, a man is brought to a morsel of bread," It gives rags for its livery (saith one) and though it be the fulness, yet it xsjblloxved with a morsel of bread. 1 those temporal judgments with which God punishes the son in this life. The word Delilah, which is the name > conceived to come from a root that signifies to exhaust, d dry. This sin will quickly exhaust the fullest estate ; ai a dreadful thing will this be, when God shall require : thy stewardship in the great day ! how righteous is it, 1 should be fuel to the wrath of God, whose health and been so much fuel to maintain the flame of lust ! 0 1
their estates are sinners to satisfy their lusts ! if the meml be sick or in prison, they may there perish and starve will relieve them ; but to obtain their lusts, O hov
*' Ask me never so much, and I will give it," saith Sh xxxiv. 12. " Ask what thou wilt, and it shall be give Herod to the daughter of Herodias. Well, you are lib ing treasures upon your lusts ; and believe it, God wii sures of wrath to punish you for your lusts. It had bee times better for thee thou hadst never had an estate, ths
THE HABLOt's face IN THE SCEIPTURE-CLASS.
; — .sin. The danger of falling this way must needs be g
( , verv desperate ; because few that fall into it do evei again. I shall lay two very terrible scriptures before you to this pose, either of them enough to drive thee speedily to Christ, (
drive thee out of thy wits ; the one is that, Eccl. rii. 26. '• A " find more bitter than death, the woman whose heart is snares *' nets, and her hands as bands : Whoso pleaseth God shall es
" from her, but the sinner shall be taken by her.'' The argui which the Spirit of God uses here to dissuade from this sin, is tj from the subject ; they that fall into it, for the most part, arc pei in whom God has no dehght, and so in judgment are delivered i it, and never recovered by grace from it. The other is that in P xxii. 14f. " The mouth of a strange woman is a deep pit ; he tl:
•' abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein." O terrible word ! to daunt the heart of the securest sinner. Your whores embrace
yea, but God abhors you ! You have their love. Oh but you under God's Imired ! What sav you to these two scriptures .'' If are not atheists, methinks such a word from the mouth of ( should strike like a dart through thy soul. And upon this acc< it is, that they never are recovered, because God has no deligl them. If this be not enough, view one scripture more. Pro'
18, 19- " For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths \ *' the dead : None that go to her, return again, neither take ' • hold of the paths of life.'' Reader, if thou be a person addi to this sin, go thy way, and think seriously what a case thou ar Nofie return again, i. e. a very few of many : The examples of « as have been recovered are verv rare. Pliny tells us, the merra are commonly seen in green meadows, and have inchantinor voi
but there are always found heaps of dead men's bones lying by it This may be but a fabulous storv : But I am sure, it is true of the lot, whose syren songs have allured thousands to their inevitable
struction. It is a captivating sin that leads away the sinner in umph ; they cannot deliver their souls ; Prov. vii. S2. " He g *' after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a [1 *' to the correction of the stocks." Mark, a fool ; it demeni and befools men, takes away their understanding ; the Septua renders it, 'Msr;^ -/...'m ^m dr<r,as;, as a dog to the collar ;• or, lik we use to say, a dog in a string. I have read of one, that ha by this sin wasted his body, was told bv physicians, that excej
left it, he would quickly lose his eves : He answered, if it bt then vale lumen amicmn. farewell sfreet licrht. And \ rpmpin
«^20 THE HAELOT's face IN THE SCRIPTUEE-GLA
O think sadly upon this argument ! God often gives tt pertinency, and will not spend a rod upon them to r See Hos. iv. 14, Rev. xxii. 11.
Jrg'. 7. And then in the 7th place, those few that 1 covered by repentance out of it, O how bitter hath Gc
their souls ! « I find it (saith Solomon) more bitter Eccl. vu. 26. Death is a very bitter thing; 0 what a st reluctance is there in nature against it ; but this is Poor David found it so, when he roared under those 1 of conscience for it, in Psal. li. Ah .' when the Lord si
poor sinner's eyes, to see the horror and guilt he hath tracted upon his own poor soul, it will haunt him as and night, and terrify his soul with dreadful forms an( tions ! O dear bought pleasure, if this were all it s What is now become of the pleasure of sin ? O what ga wood wilt thou taste, when once the Lord shall bring th of it ! The Hebrew word for repentance (Nacham,) ai word (Metamelia,) the one signifies, an irking of the s other signifies, after-grief: Yea, it is called, a renting as if It were torn in pieces in a man's breast. Ask suci: what it thinks of such courses now ? Oh ! now it loatl self for them. Ask him, if he dare sin in that kind may as well ask me (will he answer) whether I wil hand into the fire. Oh ! it breeds an indignation in himself That word, ayamzrrim, 2 Cor. vii. 11. signifi of the stomach with very rage, and being sick with anger. wrath is the fiercest wrath. O what a furnace is the brej penitent ! what fumes, what heats do abound in it, whi even before him, and the sense of the guilt upon him i of carnal pleasure will keep thee many days and nigh rack of horror, if ever God give thee repentance unto 1
Arg. 8. And if thou never repent, as indeed but few into this sin, then consider how God will follow thee >
vengeance : Thou shalt have flaming fire for burning lu a sin that hath the scent of fire and brimstone with it, w
meet with it in scripture. The harlot's guests are lodged of hell, Prov. ix. 18. No more perfumed beds ; they n down in flames. Whoremongers shall have their part that burneth with fire and brimstone ; which is the se Rev. xxi. 8. Such shall not inherit the kingdom of God 1 Cor. vi. 9. No dog shall come into the New Jeruss
I t I I t
THE HARLOT S FACE IN THE SCRIPTUKE-GLASS. 3
iherrij therefore he himself will torment them for ever with his o immediate power : Now he will stir up all his wrath, and sinners si know the price of their pleasures. The punishment of Sodom i little map of hell, as I may say. O how terrible a day was that u] those unclean wretches ! But that fire was not of many days c tinuance : When it had consumed them, and their houses, it w out for want of matter : but here, the breath of the Lord, liki stream of brimstone, kindles it. The pleasure was quickly go
but the sting and torment abide for ever. *' "Who knoweth
" power of his anger ? Even according to his fear, so is his wrat Psal. xc. 11. Oh consider, how will his almighty power rack i torment thee ! Think on this when sin comes with a smiling f towards thee in the temptation. O think ! If the human nature Christ recoiled, when his cup of wrath was given him to drink he were sore amazed at it, how shalt thou, a poor worm, bear j
grapple with it for ever .''
Arg. 9. Consider further, how closely soever thou carriest wickedness in this world, though it should never be discovered h( yet there is a day coming when all will out, and that before an« and men. God will rip up thy secret sins in the face of that gi congregation at the dav of judgment : Then that which was di in secret shall be proclaimed as upon the house-top, Luke xii.
*' Then God will judge the secrets of men," Rom. ii. 16. " " hidden things of darkness will be brought into the open ligi
Sinner, there will be no sculking for thee in the grave, no declin this bar; thou refusedst, indeed, to come to the throne of gr^ when God invited thee, but there will be no refusing to ap^: before the bar of justice, when Christ shall summon thee. Anc thou canst not decline appearing, so neither canst thou then pall and hide thy wickedness any longer ; for then shall the books
opened ; the book of God's omniscience, and the book of thine < conscience, wherein all thy secret villany is recorded : for thoug ceased to speak to thee, yet it ceased not to wTite and record actions. If thy shameful sins should be divulged now, it would m
thee tear off thy hair with indignation ; but then all will be disco' ed : Angels and men shall point at thee, and sav, lo, this is the it this is he that carried it so smoothly in the world! Mr. Thomas Fii
j'elates a story of Ottocar king of Bohemia, * who refusing to dc
* homage toRodulphus the first emperor, being at last sorely chasti * with war, condescended to do him homage privately in a tent ; ' the tent was so contrived bv the emceror's servants. Csaith
-f.«4L..Jl
822 THE harlot's face in the SCJRIPTtfUE-GLA
Arg. 10. Lastly, consider but one thing more, and By this sin thou dost not only damn thine own soul, but ther to hell with thee. This sin is not as a single bu but one, but as a chain-shot, it kills many, two at leasl give repentance. And if he should give thee repents other party may never repent, and so perish for ever wickedness; and oh ! what a sad consideration will thi that such a poor soul is in hell, or likely to go thither b; Thou hast made fast a snare upon a soul, which thou cai thou hast done that which may be matter of sorrow tc as thou livest ; but though thou canst grieve for it, thoi medy it. In other sins it is not so: If thou hadst stc goods, restitution might be made to the injured party, be none : if thou hadst murdered another, thy sin wj not his that was murdered by thee: but this is a con defiling both at once ; and if neither repent, then, oh greeting will these poor wretches have in hell ! how w
the day that ever they saw each other's face ! O whai tion of their misery will this be ! For look, as it will be in heaven, to behold such there as we have been instrum
so must it needs be a stinging aggravation of the misery c to look upon those who have been the instruments j;
their damnation. Oh, methinks if there be any tendei thy conscience, if this sin have not totally brawned and s these arguments should pierce like a sword through th Reader, I beseech thee, by the mercies of God, if thoi thy soul by this abominable sin, speedily to repent. O of sprinkling upon thee ; there is yet mercy for sucl thou art, if thou wilt accept the terms of it. " Such
" you, but ye are washed," 1 Cor. vi. 11. Publican may enter into the kingdom of God, Matth. xxi. 31. few such are recovered, yet how knowest thou but mercy may pull thee as a brand out of the fire, if now turn and seek it with tears .? Though it be a Jire th unto destruction, as Job calls it. Job xxxi. 12. yet it quenchable fire, the blood of Christ can quench it.
And for you, whom God hath kept hitherto from
of it, O bless the Lord, and use all God's means for t of it. The seeds of this sin are in thy nature ; no tl but to restraining grace, that thou art not delivered And that thou mayest be kept out of this pit, conscioi
I I t I I
THF. harlot's face IN TlIK SCKIPTURK-GLASS.
12. " Abstain from fleshly lusts having your converse honest." The lust must first be subdued, before the conversa
can be honest.
Direct. 3. Walk in the fear of God all the day long, and in sense of his omniscient eye that is ever upon thee. This kept Joi
from this sin, Gen. xxxi'x. 9. " How can I do this wickedness anc " against God ?"" Consider, the darkness hideth not from him, shineth as the light. If thou couldst find a place where the ej God should not discover thee, it were somewhat : thou daresl
to act this wickedness in the presence of a child, and wilt thou venture to commit it before the face of God ? see that argurr
Prov. V. 20, 21. " And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished wi
*' strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger.'' For *' ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponde
*' all his goings.'^ Direct. 3. Avoid lewd company, and the society of unclean sons ; they are but panders for lust. Evil communication corr good manners. The tongues of sinners do cast fire-balls into
hearts of each other, which the corruption within is easily kin and enflamed by.
Direct. 4. Exercise thyself in thy calling diligently ; it will b excellent means of preventing this sin. It is a good observation one hath. That Israel was safer in the brick-kilns in Egypt, th:
the plains of Moab, 2 Sam. xi. 2. " And it came to pass in the e " tide, that David arose from ofi'his bed, and walked on the ro " the king's house ;'' and this was the occasion of his fall. 1 Tim. V. 11, 13. Direct. 5. Put a restraint upon thine appetite : feed not to ex Fulness of bread and idleness were the sins of Sodom, that occaj
cd such an exuberancy of lust *. " They are like fed horses, e
** one neighing after his neighbour'*s wife. When I had fed the *' the full, then they committed adultery, and asembled themse " by troops in the harlots' houses," Jer. v. 7, 8. This is a sac quital of the bounty of God, in giving us the enjoyment of the c tures, to make them fuel to lust, and instruments of sin.
Direct. 6. Make choice of a meet yoke-fellow, and delight in you have chosen. This is a lawful remedy : See 1 Cor. vii. 9. ' ordained it. Gen. ii. 21. But herein appears the corruption of ture, that men delight to tread by-paths, and forsake the way w God hath apjx)inted ; as that divine poet, Mr. Herbert, saith,
If God had laid all common, certainly
If 1
324 MEHCIES AND TROMISES.
O what were man, might he himself misplace ! Sure, to be cross, he would shift feet and face.
Stolen waters are sweeter to them than those wate lawfully drink at their own fountain : But withal kno having, but the delighting in a lawful wife, as God r do, that thou must be a fence against this sin. So S^