The Epiſtle Dedicatory,
326 ]
A PATHETICAL and SERIOUS .
DISSUASIVE
From the horrid and deteſtable SINS of Drunkenneſs, Swearing, Uncleanneſs, forgetfulneſs of Mercies, violation of Promiſes, and Atheistical Contempt of Death.
Appliedby way of CAUTION to SEAMEN, andnow added as an APPENDIX to their NEW COMPASS .
Being an Essay toward their much-defired Reformation : fit to be ſeriously recommended to their profane Relations, whether Seamen or others, by all ſuch as unfeignedly defire their eternal
Welfare.
To the right worſhipful Sir JOHN FREDERICK, Kt, one of the worſhipful Aldermen of the City of London, and their honourable BURGESS in the preſent Parliament:
And to the truly religious and ever honoured Mr JOHN LOVERING, of the city of London, merchant.
Muchhonoured and esteemed, A Lthough dedications are too often abuſed to avain flattery, yet there is an excellent uſe and advantage to be madeof them: partly to encourage perſons of worth and eminency to eſpouſe the intereſt of religion themselves ; and partly to oblige thoſe readers, for whom ſuch books are principally intended, to a diligent peruſal of them,byintereſting ſuchperfons in them, for whom they have great reſpects, or on whom they have any dependence.
Upon the firſt account, a dedication would be needleſs to you; for I am perfuaded, you do notonly in your judgment approve the deſign I here manage, viz. The reformation of the profane and loofer fort of our ſeamen; but are alſo heartily willing to improveyour intereſt to the uttermost for the pro motion of it.
I cannotlook uponyou as perſons acted by that lowandcommon ſpiritthat the most ofyour profeſſion are acted by, who little regard, if theybe good ſervants tothem, whe-
The Epistle Dedicatery.
therGod haveany fervice fromthemorno; and if they pay them the wages due for their work, never think of the wages they are to receive for their fin.
You are judged to be perſons of another ſpirit, who do not only mind, but advance Chriſt's intereſt above yourown, and negotiatefor his glory, as well as for your own gain: andyethereinyou confult yourown intereft as well asGod's : Subordinatanonpugnant. Your intereſt is never more profperoufly managed, or abundantly ſecured, than when it is carried on in a due fubordination to God's.
Their reformation will apparently tend to your advantage.
Thoſe ſins of theirs, against which I have here engaged, are the Jonahs in your thips ; itis fin that finks them, and drives themagainst the rocks. " One finner deſtroyeth much good, "
Eccl . viii. 11. Howmuch more a lewd crew of them conſpiring to provokeGod! the death of their lufts, is the moreprobable means togive life to your trade. And as theſe counſels profper in their hearts, fo will yourbuſineſs thrive in yourhands.
Piety and profperity are marriedtogether in that promiſe, Pfal. i. 3.
Onefimus was never ſo profitable a ſervant to Philemon, aswhenhe became his brother in a spiritual, as wellas his fervantina civilcapacity, Philem. verf. 11. and 16. compared.
And yet if your intereſt were forced to ſtep back, togive way to Chrift's, I hope you would (notwithstanding) rejoice therein.
So that my preſentbuſineſs is, not ſo much to perfuade you, whoſe hearts, Ihope, God hath already perfuaded to fo good a work ; as to make your fames and reſpects, which are greatamongthem, aninnocentbaittotemptthem to their duty. And if eitheryournames or intereſt may be useful to ſuch an end, I prefume Imayuse them freely, and welcome; for, fure I am, they can never be put toa better uſe.
Well then, I will make bold to fend this ſmall adventure in your ſhips ; and if the return of it be but the converfionof one foul toGod, I shall reckon that Ihave made abetter voyage than you, let your returns be never fo rich .
How theſe things will affect them, Iknow not.
I do fuppofe itwill produce different effects upon them, according to the different tempers of their ſpirits, and according asGod ſhall command, or fufpend the bleſſing.
Poſſibly ſome will ſtorm at the clole and cutting rebukes of the word, (for moſt mens lufts are agreat deal more ſenſible and tender than their confciences) and will fondly imagine that this neceſſary plainneſs tends to their reproach .
But if none but the guilty can be ſuppoſed to be angry at them, theywill thereby reproach themselves a great deal more than ever I intended to do.
ASober Confideration Iconfeſs it is a bitter pill, and compounded ofmany opera. tive and ſtrong ingredients, whichdoacute it; but not ajot morethan is neceſſary.
Ishall begthe aſſiſtance ofyour prayers toGod for them, andof your grave admonitions and exhortations to them forGod; which will much help its operation, and facilitatemydeſign, todo their ſouls apiece of ever-
laſting ſervice; withwhichdeſign Ican truly ſay, I even travel inpain for them. Your aſſiſtancetherefore inthis good work, will put the highest obligationupon Yourmostaffectionate Friendand Servant, tobecommanded,
JOHN FLAVEL.
SOBER CONSIDERATION
Of the SIN of
DRUNKENNESS.
INN the former treatiſe Ihave endeavoured to ſpiritualize earthly objects, and elevate your thoughts tomore fublime and excellent contemplations; that earthlythings may rather bea ſtep, than a ſtop to heavenly.
You have therein my beſt advice to guide you in your courſe to that port of your eternal reft andhappineſs.
In this I have given warning of ſomedangerous rocks and quick-ſands that lie upon your left hand ; upon which millions of foulshave periſhed, and others are wilfully running to their own perdition.
Such are the horrid ſins of drunkenness, uncleanness, profane swearing, violation of promises, engagements made to God, and atheistical flighting and contempt of deathandeternity.
All which I have here given warning of, andheld forth a light to diſcover where yourdanger is.
If after thisyou obſtinately proſecute your luſts, and will not be reclaimed; you periſh without apology, Ihavefreed mine owa foul.
of the Sin of Drunkenness.
Let none interpret this neceffary plainneis, as a reproach to feamen, as if Ireprefentedthem to the world worse than they are.
If, upon that account, anyofthembe offended, methinks thefethreeor four confiderations should remove that offence.
First, That if this cloſeandplaindealingbe neceffary, in order to your cure, and you will be offended thereat, it is better you shouldbe offended than God.
Ministers areoftenputupon lamentable ſtraits, they fail betwixt Scylla and Charybdis; thewrath ofGoduponone ſide, if wedo not ſpeak plain and home, as the neceffity of the caſe requires ; and man's wrath ifwedo: what ſhall we do in this ſtrait Either God or you, itfeems, muſtbe offended; and if itcannotbe avoided,
I ſhall rather hazardyour anger thanGod's, and think it far more tolerable.
Secondly, If you did but fee the neceffity and end of this mannerof dealingwith your fouls, you would not be offended.
But put it intoa more ſenſible cafe, and you will fee and acknowledge it preſently.
If I ſhouldfee an high built wall givingway, and ready to fallupon you, would you be angry with me, ifbyplucking you out ofthe danger, I ſhould pluck your arm out of joint; certainly you would not.
Why, this is the cafe here : See Ifa. xxx. 13. " Therefore this iniquity ſhall be
" to you as a breach ready tofall, fwelling out in a high wall, " whofe breaking cometh fuddenly, at an inftant."
Thirdly, Whatamadneſs is it to abide in a condition over - which all woes and curſes hang, and yet not be able to endure tohear of it! Why, whatwillit profit you to haveyour misery hid from your eyes, and kept from your ears a little while ?
You muſt ſee this wrath, and hear louder vollies of woes from yourown confciences, if you remain in this condition.
You cannot bear that from us, which your confcience will one of theſedays preach themselves to you, and that in amore dreadful dialect than I have ufed here.
Fourthly, I do not charge theſe ſins indifferently upon all feamen. No, Iknow there are ſome choice and good men amongst your men, that fear an oath, and hate even the garments ſpottedwith the flesh, who are (I queſtion not) the credit and glory of our English nation, in the eyes of ſtrangers that converſe with them.
Nor yet do I think that all that are wicked amongst them are equally guilty of all thele evils ; for though all that are graceleſs, be equallyunderthe dominion of original corruption, yet it follows notfromthence, that therefore actual fins muſl reign alike in them: there is agreatdiffe
VOL. VI.
Afober Confideration rence, even among ungodly men themselves, inthis reſpect; which difference ariſeth from their various cuſtoms, conſtitetions, abilities, educations, and the different adminiftrations of the Spirit, in enlightening, convincing, and putting checks uponconfcience: for thoughGodbe not the author, yet he is the orderer of fin. And this makes a great diſparity, even among wicked men themselves. Some are perſons of good morals, though not gracious principles, which produce a civil and ſober, though not a holy and religious life. Andothers, though they live in ſome one of theſe lufts, yet are not guilty of fome others of them.
For it is with original corruption, juſt as it iswith the ſapof the earth, which though it be the matter of allkindof fruits, yet in ſome ground it forts better with one grainthan with another : and ſo in plants, in one tree it be comesanapple, in another a cherry; even ſo it is with this original corruption, in one man it runs moſt into ſwearing, in another into uncleanneſs, in athird into drunkennets.
Luſt is nothing elſe but the corrupt appetite of the creature to ſome ſinfulobject ; and therefore look as it is with the appetite with refpectto food, ſo it is with the vitiated appetites of fouls to fin.
Oneman loves this food beſt, and another that; there is endleſs variety in that, and ſo in this.
Having ſpoken thus much toremove offence, I ſhall now beg you to peruſe the following diſcourſe.
Confider what evidence theſe things carry with them.
Search the alledged ſcriptures, ſee if theybe truly recited and applied to the cafe in hand:
And if ſo, O tremble at the truth you read ! bring forth your luſts, that they maydie the death.
Will you not part with theſe abominable practices till death and hellmake the feparation ? Ah ! how much betteris it for you that hatgrace ſhould do it ? And becauſe many of you fee not the danger, and thereforeprize not the remedy, I do here requeſt all thoſe thathave the bowels of pity in them, for their poor relations, who are
finking, drowning, periſhing, to spread theſe following cautions before the Lord for a bleſſing, and then put them into their hands. And that all pious maſters would perfuade all thoſethat are under their chargetobuy this enſuing treatiſe, and diligentlyperuſe it. Andthe firſt caution Ishallgive themis this >
T CAUTION Г.
Ake heed, and beware of the deteſtable fin of drunkenneſs, which is a beaſtly fin, a voluntary madneſs, afin thatunmansthee, and makes thee like the beasts that periſhes; yea, fets thee below the beasts, which will not drink to
of the Sin of Drunkenness.
excefs; or, if theydo, yet it is not their ſin.
+ One of the ancients calls it, 'Adiſtemper of the head, aſubverſion of the fenfes, a tempeſt in the tongue, a ſtorm of the body, the ſhipwreck of virtue, the loss of time, a wilful madneſs, a pleaſantdevil, a fugared poiſon, a ſweet ſin, which he that has, has not himself, and he that commits it, doth not only commit fin, buthe himself isaltogether ſin.'
It is a fin at which the moſt ſober heathens blushed. The Spartans brought their children to loath it, by ſhewing them a drunkard, whom they gazed at as a monster : Even Epicurus himself, who eſteemed happineſs toconſiſt in pleaſure, yet was temperate, as Cicero obſerves.
Among the heathens he was accounted the best man, that ſpent more oil in the lamp, than wine in the bottle.
Chriſtianitycould once glory in its profeffors.: Tertullian faith of the primitive Chriftians, they ſat notdown before they prayed; they eat no more than might fuffice hunger, theydrank no more than was ſufficient for temperate men; theydidfoeat anddrink, as thoſe that remembered they must prayafterward. But nowwe may blush to behold ſuch beaſtly ſenſualiſts adorning themselves with its name, and ſheltering themſelves under its wings.
And amongst thoſe that profeſs Chriſtianity, how ordinarily isthis ſin committed byſeamen ? This inſatiable dropſy is a diſeaſe that reigns, eſpecially amongthe inferior and ruder fort of them.
Some of them have gone aboard drunk, and laid the foundation of their voyage in fin. Owhat a preparation is this!
They know not whether ever they ſhall ſee the land of their nativityany more ; the next ſtorm maysendthem into eterniry :
Yet this is the farewel they take, this is their preparation to meetthe Lord. And ſo in their returns, notwithstanding the terrible and aftoniſhing works of the Lord, which they have beheldwith their eyes, and their marvellous preſervationin fo great and terrible extremities; yet thus do they requite the Lord, as foon as theirdangers are over, as if theyhad beendelivered tocommit all theſe abominations. But a few hours or days fince, they were reeling toand fro upon a ſtormy ocean, and ſtaggering like drunken men, as itis ſaid, Pfal. cvii. 27.
Tt2 +Turbatio capitis, subverſio ſenſus, tempeftas linguae, procella corporis,naufragium virtutis, amiſſio temporis, infania voluntaria, blandusdaemon, dulcevenenum, suavepeccatum, quam qui habet, feipfum non habet ; quam qui fecit, peccatum non fecit, fed ipfe totus eftpeccatum. Aug. ad, lacr. Virginis.
Afober Confideration andnowyoumay fee themreeling and ſtaggering in the ſtreets, drowning the ſenſeofallthoſe preciousmerciesand deliverances in theirdrunken cups.
Reader, if thou be one that is guilty of this ſin, for the Lord's fake, bethink thyself ſpeedily, and weigh, with the rea fonof aman, what I shall now ſay, in order tothy conviction, humiliation, and reformation. Ineednot ſpend manywords, to openthe nature of this ſin toyou ; we all grant, that there is alawful uſe of wine and ſtrongdrink to fupport nature, not to clog it; to cure infirmities, not to cauſe them. " Drink no " longerwater, but uſe a little wine, for thy stomach's fake,
" and thine often infirmities," faith Paul to Timothy, Tim, v. 23.
Mark, drink not water, but wine ; Sed modice, (i . e.) medice ; pro remedio, non pro delicus, faith Ambrofe * ; that is, uſe itmodeſtly, viz. medicinally, not for pleaſure, but for remedy.
Yea, God allows it, not onlyfor bare neceffity, but for chearfulness and alacrity, that the bodymaybe more fit and expedite for duty, Prov. xxxi. 7. but further noman proceeds, without the violation of fobriety.
When men fit till wine have inflamed them, and reaſon be disturbed, (for drunkennets is the privation of reaſon, cauſed by immoderate drinking), thendothey come under the guilt of this horrid and abominable fin. To the fatisfaction and refreshment of nature, you maydrink: for it is a part ofthe curſe to drink, andnot be far tisfied; but take heed you go no further ; "Forwine is a " [mocker] , ſtrongdrink is raging, andwhoſoever is deceived
" thereby, is not wife," Prov. xx. 1. The throat is a flippery place; how easily may a ſin ſlip thro' it into the foul ?
Theſe fenfual pleaſures have a kind of inchanting poweruponthe foul, andby cuſtom gainupon it, till they have inſlaved it, and brought it under their power. Now, this is the fin against whichGodhath delivered ſomany precepts, anddenounced fo many woes, in his word.
Eph. v. 18. " Be notdrunkenwith " wine, wherein is exceſs." Rom. xiii. 13.
Not inrioting "anddrunkenneſs,not inchambering andwantonneſs." Iſa v.
11. " Woe to them that rifeup early in the morning, that they " mayfollowstrong drink, that continue until night, till wine
" inflame them:" with manyother of dreadful importance.
Now, to ſtartle thee for ever from this abominable and filthy luſt, I ſhall here propound tothy confideration theſe ten enfuing arguments; and oh that they might ſtand in the way, as the angel did in Balaam's, when thou art inthe proſecution of thyſenſual pleaſures ! Andthe firſt isthis :
* Qui dedit aquam, dedit vinum.
: of the Sin of Drunkennefs.
Argument 1. It shouldexceedingly diffuadefrom this fin, to -confider thatit is anhigh abuſe of the bounty and goodness of God, in affording us thoſe ſweet refreshments, to make our lives comfortable to us upon earth.
InAdam we forfeited all right to all earthly, as well as heavenly mercies : God might havetaken thee from the womb, when thou walt a finner but of aſpan long, and immediately have fent thee to thine own place; thouhadſt no right toadrop of water, more than what the bountyof God gave thee : And whereas he might have thrust thee out of the world as foon asthou cameſt into it, and fo all thoſedays of mercy thou haft had on earth, might have beenſpent in howling and unspeakable mifery in hell:
Behold thebountyand goodness ofGod to thee; I ſay, behold it, and wonder: He hath ſuffered thee for fo many years to live upon the earth, which he hath prepared and furnishedwith all things fit for thy neceffity and delight: Out of the earth, on which thou treadeft, " he bringeth forth thy food, and [wine] to <<make glad thy heart," Pial. civ. 14, 15. Anddoſt thou thus requitethe Lord ? Hath mercy armed an enemy to fight against itwith its own weapons ? Ah ! that ever the riches of hisgoodness, bounty, and long-fuffering, all which are arguments to leadthee to repentance, ſhould be thus abuſed!
If God hadnot been ſo bountiful, thou couldſt not have been fo finful.
Arg. 2. Itdegrades aman from the honourof his creation, and equaliſeth him to the beasts that periſheth : Wine is laidto take away the heart, Hof. iv. 11. i. e. the wisdom and ingenuity of a man,, and ſo brutifies him ; as Nebuchadnezzar, who lost theheart of aman, andhad theheart of a beastgiven him, Dan. iv . 32. The heart of aman hath its generoſity and ſprightlineſs, brave, vigorous ſpirits in it, capable of, and fit. ted for noble andworthy actions and employments ; but his luft effeminates, quenches, and drowns that mafculine vigour inthe puddle of exceſs and fenfuality : For no fooner is aman
⚫brought under the dominion of this lust, but the government of reaſon is renounced, which ſhould exerciſe a coercive power overtheaffections, and all isdelivered up into the hand of luft and appetite; and ſo they act, not by difcretion and reafon, but by luft and will, as the beasts doby inſtinct. The ſpirit ofman entertains itſelf with intellectual and chaſte delights; the foulof a beaſt is only fitted for fuch low, ſenſitive, and dreggy pleaſures. Thou hast fomething of the angel, and fomething of the beast in thee: thy foul partakes of the nature of angels, thy body of the nature of beasts. Oh! how many
Afober Confideration pamper the beast, while they ſtarve the angel? God, inthe firſt chapter, put all the creatures inſubjection to thee ; bythis luſt, thou putteſt thyſelf in ſubjection to the creature, and art brought under his power, 1 Cor. vi. 12.
If God had given thee the head or feet of abeaſt, oh ! what a miſery wouldſt thou have eſteemed it ? and is it nothing to have the heart of abeaſt ?
Oh ! conſider it fadly.
Arg. 3. It is a ſiaby which thou greatlywrongest and abufeſt thine own body.
The body is the foul's inſtrument ; it isas the tools are to a skilful artificer ; this luft both dulls and ſpoils it, ſo that it is utterly unfit for any ſervice of him that made it.
Thy body is a curious piece, not made by a word of command, as other creatures, but by a word of counſel; "I " am fearfullyand wonderfully made, and curiously wrought," faith the Pfalmiſt, Pfal. cxxxix. 14. or as the vulgar, Acepictus fum, Painted as with needle-work of divers colours, like a garment richly embroidered.
Look how many members, ſo many wonders !
There are miracles enough, faith one, betwixt head and foot, to fill a volume.
There is, faith another, ſuch curious workmanſhip in the eye, that, upon the firſt ſight of it, ſome atheists have been forced to acknowledge aGod; eſpecially that fifth muscle in the eye is wonderful, whereby,
(as a learned + author obſerves) man differeth from all other creatures, who have but four; one, to turn the eye downward, aſecondto hold itforward, a third tomove it to the righthand, a fourth to the left; but none to turn it upward as a man hath .
Now, judge in thyſelf; DidGod frame ſuch a curious piece, and enliven itwith a ſoul, which isa ſpark, a ray of his own light, whoſe motions are ſoquick, various, and indefatigable, whole flights of reaſon are ſo tranſcendent; did
God, thinkeſt thou, ſend down this curious piece, the top and glory of the creation, the index and epitome of the whole world, Eccl. xii. 2. didGod, Iſay, ſenddown this picture of his own perfection, to be but as a ſtrainer for meats anddrinks, aſpunge to fuck in wine and beer ?
Or canſt thou anſwer for the abufe anddeſtruction of it ?
By this exceſs thou filleſt it with innumerable diſeaſes, under which it languiſheth ; and at laſt thy life, like a lamp, extinguiſhed, being drowned with too much oil.
+ ' Infinite diſeaſes are begotten by it, (faith • Zanch) ; hence come apoplexies, gouts, palſies, ſuddendeath,
* Columb, de re anat.
↑Infinitae morborumgenera inde nafcuntur apoplexae, paralyses, arthrides, &c.
Ille optimus medicus fibi, qui modicus cibi. Aug.
of the Sin of Drunkenness.
• trembling of the hands and legs;' herein they bring Cain's curieuponthemselves, faith Ambrofe : Drunkenneſsſlays more thanthe ſword.
Oh ! what a terrible thing will it be to confider upon adeath-bed, that theſe pangs and aches are the fruits of thy intemperance and exceſs ! " Who hath woe?
Who hath forrow ? Who hath contentions ? Who hath babbling ? Who hath wounds without cauſe ? Who hath red- •" nefs of eyes ?
They that tarrylong at the wine, they that "
" go tofeekmixed wine," Prov. xxiii. 29, 30. By this enumeration, and manner of interrogation, he seems to make it adifficult thing to recount the miſeries that drunkenneſs loads the outward man with ; for look as vermin abound where there is ftore of corn, ſodo diſeaſes in the bodies of drunkards, where crudities do ſo abound.
Now, methinks, if thou hast no regard to thy poor foul, or the glory of God, yet ſuch a ſenſible argument as this, from thy body, ſhould move thee.
Arg. 4. Drunkenneſs waſtes andſcatters thineeſtate, poverty attends exceſs; the drunkard ſhall be clothed with rags, and brought to a morſel of bread. Solomon hath read thy fortune, Prov. xxi . 17. " He that loveth wine and oil ſhall not be
" rich ;" luxury and beggary are ſeldom faraſunder.
When Diogenesheard adrunkard's houſe cried tobe fold; ' Ithought, (quoth he) it would notbe long e'er he vomited up his houſe
• alfo .' The Hebrew word שורית and the Greek word ασωτίας which fignify luxury ; the former is compoundedof two words, which ſignify, Thou shalt be poor ; and the latter ſignifies the lofing of the poffeſſion of that good which is in our hand.
" The drunkard and the glutton ſhall furelycome to poverty,"
Prov. xxiii. 21.
Inthe Hebrew it is, he ſhall bediſinherited, or difpoffeffed.
Itdoth notonly diſpoſſeſs amanof his reaſon, which is a rich and fair inheritance given tohim by God, but it alſo diſpoffefſes him of his ettate : It waſtes all that either the provident careof thy progenitors, or the bleffing of God upon thine own induſtry, hath obtained for thee. And how will this ſting like an adder, when thou shalt conſider it ?
Apicus the Roman, hearing that there were ſeven hundred crowns only remaining of afair eſtate that his father had left him, fell into a deep melancholy, and, fearing want, hanged himself, faith Seneca. And not to mention the miſeries and forrows they bring hereby upon their families, drinking the tears, yea, blood of their wives and children : Oh ! what an account will theygive to God, when the reckoning day comes !
Believe it, firs, there is not a ſhilling of your eſtates, butGod will reckon with you for the expence thereof.
If you have :
Afober Confideration ſpent ituponyour lufts, whilst the neceffityof your families, or the poor, calleduponyou for it; I ſhould be lothtohave your account to make, for a thousandtimes morethan ever you pofſeſſed. O woful expence, that is followedwith fuch dreadful reckonings!
Arg. 5. Confider what vile and ignominious characters the Spirit of God hath put upon the ſubjects of this fin.
The fcripture every where notes them for infamous, and moſt abominable perfons.
When Eli ſuppoſed Hannah to be drunken, " Count not thine handmaid adaughter of Belial," said the,
1 Sam. i. 16. Now, afon or daughter ofBelial is, in ſcripturelanguage, the vileſt of men or women.
So Plalm lxix. 12.
"Theythat fit in the gate, ſpeak against me, and I am the " fongofdrunkards," (i. e.) of the baſeſt and vileſt of men, as the oppoſitionplainly ſhews; for they areopposedtothem that fitin the gate, that is honourable perfons.
The Lord would have his people ſhun the ſociety of fuch as a peſt, not to eat with them, I Cor. v. 11.
Yea, the fcripture brands them with athaiſm; theyare ſuch as have lost the ſenſe and expectation of theday ofjudgment; mind not another world, nordo they look for the coming of the Lord, Matth. xxiv. 27, 28.
He faith the Lord delayeth his coming, and then falls a drinking with the drunkard.
The thoughts of that day willmake them leave their cups, or their cups will drown the thoughts of fuch aday. And will not all the contempt, ſhame, and infamy which the Spirit ofGod hath poured onthe head of this fin, cauſe thee to abhor it? Do not all godly, yea moral perions, abhor the drunkard ?
Oh ! methinks the ſhame that attends it, ſhould be as a fenceto keep thee from it.
Arg. 6. Sadlyconfider, therecanbenothing of the fanctifying Spirit in a foulthat is underthe dominionof this luft; for uponthe firſtdiſcovery of the grace of God, the foul renounces the government of fentuality : " The grace of God that " bringeth falvation, teacheth mentolive ſoberly," Tit. ii.
11, 12.
That is oneof its first effects.
Drunkenneſs indeed maybe found among heathens, that are loſt in the darkness of ignorance ; but it may notbe oncenamed among the children of the day.
" They that be drunken, are drunken in the 66 night: but let usthat are ofthe day, be fober," 1 Theff. v.
7,8. Andtheapostlesoften oppoſewine and the Spirit as things incompatible, Eph. v. 18. " Be not drunk with wine, wherein is exceſs ; butbe filledwith the Spirit.".So Jude 19. "Senfual, not havingthe Spirit. " Now, what a dreadful confiderationis this ? "Ifanymanhave not the Spiritof Chrift, he is
of the Sin of Drunkenness.
そこnone of his," Rom. viii. 9.
Senfual perſons have not the Spiritof Chriſt, and ſo can be none of his.
It is true, Noah, a godly man, once fell into this fin ; but, as Theodoret faith, and that truly, it proceeded ab inexperientia non ab intemperantia, fromwant of experience of the force and power ofthe grape, not from intemperance; and, befides, we find not that ever he was again overtaken with that fin ; but thou knoweſt it, and yet perſiſteſt. O wretched creature ! the Spirit of Chrift cannotdwell in thee.
The Lord help thee to lay it to heart fadly!
Arg. 7. It is a fin over which many direful woes and threats hang in theword, like ſo manylowring clouds, ready to pour downvengeance uponthe heads of ſuch ſinners.
Look, as the conditionof the ſaints iscompaſſed round with promiſes, ſo is yours with threatenings, Ifa. v. 11. " Woe to them that riſeup early in the morning, thattheymayfollow strong drink, and continue untilnight, untilwine inflame them." So If. xxviii
1, 2.
Woe to thecrown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim," &c. with many other, too long to enumerate here.
Now, confider what a fearful thing it is to be under theſe " woes ofGod! Sinner, I beſeech thee, donot make light of them, for theywill fall heavy; affure thyſelf notoneof them thail fall to the ground; they will all takeplace upon thee, except thou repent.
There are woes of men, and woes ofGod: God's woes are true woes, and make their condition woful, to purpoſe, on whom they fall.
Otherwoes, as one faith, dobut touch the skin, but theſe ſtrike the foul; other woes are but temporal, theſe are eternal ; others do only part betwixtus and our outward comforts, theſe betwixtGod and us for ever.
Arg 8. Drunkenneſs is aleading fin, which has agreat retinueand attendance of other ſins waiting on it; it is like a Tudden land-flood, which brings a great deal of dirt with it. So that look as faith excels among the graces, becauſe it enlivens, actuates, andgives ſtrength tothem, ſo is this among fins. Itis not fo much a ſpecial fin againſt a ſingle precept ofGod, as a general violation of the whole law, faith accurate Ameſius.
Ic dothnot onlycall off the guard, but warms and quickens all other lufts, and ſoexpoſes the ſoul to be proſtituted bythem.
(1.) It gives occafion, yea, is the real cauſe of many contentions, and fatal quarrels, Prov. xxiii. 29. " Who hath woe ?
."Whohathforrow ? Whohath [contentions] babbling,wounds "without cauſe?
They that tarry long at the wine," 66.
VOL . VI.
1 338 Afober Confideration Contentions and wounds are the ordinary effects of drunken meetings : When reaſon isdepoſed, and luft heated, what will notmenattempt ?
( 2.) Scoffs and reproaches of the ways and people of God, Pfal. lxix. 12. " David was the ſong of the " drunkards."
(3.) It is the great incendiary of luſt :
You ſhall find rioting and drunkenneſs joined with chambering and wantonneſs,Rom. xiii. 13. Nunquam ego ebrium caftumputabo, faith Hierom ; I will never think adrunkard to be chaſte.
Solomon plainly tells us what the iſſue willbe, Prov. xxiii. 33.
" Thine eyes ſhall behold a ſtrangewoman, and thy heart ſhall " utter perverfe things," ſpeaking of thedrunkard.
It may be calledGad, for a troop followeth it. Hence one aptly calls it, The devil's bridle, bywhich he turneth the finner which wayhe pleaſes; he that is overcome by it, can overcomeno other fin.
Arg. 9. But if noneof theformer confiderations can pre vail, Ihope theſe two laſt may, unless all fenſe and tenderneſs beloft.
Confider, therefore, in the 9th place, that drunkards are in ſcripture marked out forhell; the characters ofdeath are upon them.
You shall find them pinioned with other fons of death, 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10. " Know ye not that the unrighteous
" ſhall not inherit the kingdom of God ?
Be not deceived :
" Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effe.
" minate, nor abuſers of themſelves with mankind, nor thieves, " nor covetous, nor [drunkards], nor revilers, nor extortion66 ers, ſhall inherit thekingdom of God." Oh dreadful thunder-bolt ! He is not afleep but dead, that is not ſtartled at it.
Lord, how are guilty ſinners able to face fuch a text as this is !
Oh foul ! darest thou for a fuperfluous cup, adventure to drink a cup of pure unmixed wrath ? O think when the wine ſparkles in the glaſs, andgives its colour, think, I ſay, what a cupof trembling is in the handof the Lord for thee. Tu wilt not now believe this : Oh! but the day is coming, when thou shalt know the price of theſe brutiſh pleaſures.. Oh ! it will then ſting like an adder. Ah ! this ſhort lived beaſtly pleaſure is the price for which thou ſelleſt heaven, andrivers of pleaſure that are atGod's right hand.
Obj. But I hope Ishallrepent, and then this text can beno bar tomyfalvation.
Sol. True; ifGod ſhallgive thee repentance, itcouldnot.
But, in the last place, to awaken thee thoroughly, and ſtartle thy ſecure conſcience, which ſenſualityhath brawned and cauterized, let me tell thee,
Arg. 10. That it is a fin out of whoſe power few, or none, are ever reſcued andreclaimed. On this account it was that St
of the Sin of Drunkenness.
Auguline called itthe pit of hell. He that is addicted to this fin, becomes incurable, faith a * reverend divine ; for ſeldom, or never have I known a drunkard reclaimed. And its power to hold the foul in ſubjection to it, lies in two things eſpecially:
(1.) As it becomes habitual ; and habits are not easily broken.
Be pleaſed to view an example in the cafe, Prov. xxiii. 35.
" They have ſtricken me, ſhalt thou ſay, and I was not ſick ; they have beaten me, and I felt it not. When ſhall I awake ?
" I will ſeek it yet again." (2.)As it " takes away the heart, "
Hof. iv. 11. that is, the understanding, reaſon, and ingenuity of aman, and ſo makes him uncapable of being reclaimed by counſel. Upon this account it was that Abigail would not ſpeak leſs or more to Nabal, until the wine was gone out of him, I Sam. xxv. 36, 37.
Plainly intimating, that no wholeſome counſel canget in, until the wine be gone out. When one asked Cleoſtratus, whether he were not ashamed to be drunken, he tartly replied, 'And are not you ashamed to ad- 'moniſh a drunkard ?"
Intimating that no wiſe man would caſtawayan admonition upon such an one. And it not only renders them uncapable of counſel for the time, but bydegrees it beſots and infatuates them ; which is a very grievous ſtroke fromGod upon them, making way to their eternal ruin.
So then you ſee upon the whole, what adangerous gulph the fin of drunkenneſs is. I beg you, for the Lord's fake, andby all the regard you have to your fouls, bodies and eates, beware of it. O conſider theſe ten argumentsIhave here produced against it.
I ſhould have proceeded to answer the feveral pleas and excuſes you have for it ; but I mind brevity, and ſhall ſhut up this firſt caution, with a very pertinent and ingenious poem of Mr George Herbert, in his TEMPLE.
Drink not the third glaſs, which theu canſt nottame When once it is within thee ; but before May'ſt rule it as thou liſt, and pour the ſhame
Which it will pour to thee, upon the floor.
It is molt juſt to throw that on the ground, Which would throw me there, if Ikept the round.
He that isdrunken, mayhis mother kill, Lie with his ſiſter : he hath loft the reins ;
Is outlaw'd by himſelf; allkind of ill Didwith the liquor ſlide into the veins.
. Uu2 * Ames, de Confc. p. 139.