The Harlot's Face, in the Scripture-Glass,
the Fruits of the Lips.
Lets his soul run for nought, as little fearing.
Where I an Epicure, I could hate swearing.
When thoudoft tell another's jest, therein Omit the oaths, which true wit cannot need :
Pick out of tales the mirth, but not the fin.
Hepares his apple that will cleanly feed.
Play not away the virtue of that name, Which is thy best stake, when grief makes thee tame.
The cheapest fins most dearly punish'dare, Because to shunthem also is so cheap ; For we have wit to mark them, and to spare.
O crumble not away thy foul's fair heap.
If thou wiltdie, the gates of hell are broad, Pride and full fins have made the way a road.
T CAUTION III.
HE next danger I shall give you warning of, is the finof uncleanness ; with which I fear too many of the rude andloofer fort of seamen defile themselves ; and possibly, the temptations to this fin are advantaged, and strengthened upon themmorethanothers, by their condition andemployments.
Let noman be offended that I here give warning of this evil :
I intend toasperseno man's person,or raise up jealousy against any; but would faithfully discharge my duty to all, and that in all things.
It was the complaint ofSalvian many hundred years ago, thathecouldnot speak against the vices . of men, but one or other would thus object.
Guber. Dei, • There he meant me; he hit me:' and so storm lib. 4. Salv. and fret.
Alas (as he replieth) it is not we ⚫that speak to you, but your own conscience ; we speak to the
• order, but conscience speaks to the person." I shall use no other apology in this case.
That this fin is a dreadful gulph, a quick sand, that hath fuckedanddestroyed thousands, is truly apparent both from Scripture and experience.
Solomon tells us, Prov. xxii. 14. that it is a " deep ditch, into which such " as are abhorred of the Lord shall fall."
Oh ! the multitudes of dead that are there ! and if so, I cannot in duty to God, or in lovetoyou,be silent, where the danger is so great.
It is both needless, and besides my intention,here to insist largely upon the explication of the particulars inwhichuncleanness is distributed: the more ordinary and common fins of this kind areknownbythenames of adultery and fornication. The latter is,whenfingle persons come together,out of the state ofmar-
The Harlot's Face, riage.
The former is,when at leastoneof the persons comrittinguncleanness is contracted in marriage.
This now is the evil I shall warn you of. And, that thou mayest never fall into this pit, I shall endeavour to fence and hedige up thy way to it, by these ensuing arguments: and,oh! that the light of every argument maybe powerfully reflected upon your conscience ! Many men are wife in generals, but very vain διαλόγισμοις, in the reasonings, or imaginations, as the apostle calls them, Rom. i. 21. (i. e.) in their practical inferences.
They are good at speculation, butbunglers at application : but itistruthintheparticulars,that, like anhotiron,pierces ; and, oh! that you may find these to be such in your soul ! To that end, confider, Arg. 1. The names and titles by which this fin is known in scripture, are very vile and base. The Spirit of God, doubtless, hath put such odious names upon it, on purpose to deter and affrightmen from it. In general it is called lust ; and so (as one notes) it beareth the name of its mother: it isuncleannes in the abstract,Numb. v. 19. filthiness itself; an abomination,
Ezek. xxii. 11. Andtheythatcommit it are called abominable, Rev. xxi . 8. Varro faith, the word imports that which is not lawful to mention ; or, rather, abominable persons, such as are not fit for the society of men, such as should behiffed out of allmens company: they are rather to be reckoned to beasts thanmen.
Yea, the scripture compares them to the filthiefst of beasts, even to dogs. When Ifhbofmeth charged this fin upon Abner, 2 Sam. iii. 8. "Am I a dog's head,(faith he)
" that thou chargestme with a faultconcerningthiswoman?"
And inDeut. xxiii. 18. the "hire ofa whore," and the"price :
" of a dog," are put together.
The expression of this lust in words or gesture, is called neighing, Jer. v. 8. Even as fed horses do, that scatter their lust promiscuoufy. Or, if the scripture speaks of them as men,yet it allows them but the external shape of men, not the understanding of men.
Among the Jews they were called fools in Israel, 2 Sam . xiii.
13. and fo Prov. vi. 32. " Whofo committeth adultery with a " woman, lacketh understanding." And sinners, Luke või.37.
" And behold a woman that was a [sinner,]" that is, an eminent notorious sinner; by which term, the scripture decyphers an unclean person, as if, among sinners,there were none offuch a prodigious stature in fin as they. And we find, that when the Spirit ofGodwould set forth any fin by an odious name, he calls it adultery; so idolatry is called adultery, Ezek. xvi. 32. And indeed this spiritual and corporal adultery often-
in the Scripture-Glass.
times are found in the fame persons. They that give themselves up to the one, are, bya righteous hand of God, given up to the other, as it is too manifeftly and frequently exemplifiedintheworld. So earthly-mindedness hath this name put upon it, on purpose to affright men from it, Jam. iv. 4.
Now, certainly,God would never borrow the name of this fin, to fetoutthe evil of other fins, if it were not most vile and abominable.
'Tis called the fin of the Gentiles, or heathens, 1Theff. iv. 5. And,oh! that we could say, it were only among themthatknownotGod ! How then are you able to look these scriptures in the face, and not blush ? Owhat a fin is this !
Art thou willing to be ranked with fools,dogs, sinners,heathens, and take thy lot with them ? Godhathplanted that affection of shame in thy nature, to be as a guard against such filthy lusts; it is a fin that hath filthiness enough in it, to defile the tongue that mentions it, Ephef. v. 3.
Arg. 2. It is a fin that the God of heaven hath often prohibited,and severely condemned in the word,which abundantly declares his abhorrence of it.
You have prohibition upon prohibition, and threatning uponthreatning in the word against it ; Exod. xx. 14. " Thou shalt not commit adultery."
This wasdeliveredupon mount Sinai, with the greatest solemnity and terror,by the mouth ofGodhimself.
Turn to, and ponder the following scriptures amongmanyothers, Prov. v. 2,3, 4. Actsv. 29. Rom.i.24, 29. Rom. xiii. 13. 1 Cor. vi. 13,--18 .
2 Cor. xii. 21. Gal. v. 29. Eph. v. 3. Col. iii. 5. 1 Thef. iv. 2, 3, 4, 5. Heb. xii. 16. Heb. xiii. 4.
All these, with many others, are the true sayings of God: by them thou shalt be tried in the last day. Now, confiderhow terrible it will be to have fomanywords of God, and such terrible ones too, as most of those are, to be brought in and pleaded against thy soul in that day! Mountains and hills may depart, but these words shall not depart : heaven and earth shall pass away, but not one titleoftheword shall pass away.
Believe it, sinner, as sure as the heavens are over thy head, and the earth under thy feet, they shall one day take hold of thee, though we poor worms who plead them with thee, die and perish: Zech . i. 5, 6. The Lord tells us it fshallnot fall to the ground. Which is a borrowed speech from a dart that is flung with a weak hand ; it goes not home to the mark, but falls to the ground by the way.
None of these words i hall so fall to the ground.
Arg. 3. It is a fin that defiles and destroys the body ; Cor. vi. 18. " He that committeth adultery, finneth against his own
VOL. VI.
The Harlot's Face, " body."
In most other fins the body is the instrument,Here it is the object against which the fin is committed : that body of thine, which should be the temple of the Holy Ghost, is turned into a stye of filthiness ; yea,itnotonlydefiles, but destroys it.
Job calls it a " fire thatburneth to destruction,"
Job. xxxi . 12. or as the Septuagint reads it, a fire that burneth in all the members.
It is as in that God hath plagued with strange and terrible diseases ; thatMorbus Gallicus, and Sudor
Anglicus, and that Plica Polonica, whereof you may read in Bolton's four last things, page 30. and Sclater onRom. i. 30.
These were judgments sent immediately by God's own hand, to correct the new fins and enormities of the world; for they seem to put the best physicians besides their books.
O how terrible is it to lie groaning under the fad effects of this sin!
As Solomon tells us, Prov. v. IV. "And thou mourn at the " last,whenthyflesh andthybodyare consumed." To this sense some expound that terrible text, Heb. xiii . 4. "Marriage is
" honourable in all, and the bed undefiled ; but whore- " mongers andadulterersGodwilljudge;"(i.e.)withfomeremarkablejudgment inflicted on them in this world : if it escape thepunishmentofmen,it shall not escape the vengeanceofGod.
Ah! with what comfortmayamanliedownupona fickbed, when the sickness can be looked upon as a fatherly visitation coming in mercy ? But thou that shortenestthy life, andbringeft ficknesson thyself by such a fin, art the devil's martyr ; and
to whom caust thou turn in such a day for comfort ?
Arg. 4. Confider what an indelible blot it is to thy nature, which can never be wiped away ; though thou escape with thy life, yet,, as one says, thou shalt be burnt in the hand, yea, branded in the forehead.
What a foul scare is that upon the face of David himself,which abides to this day ? " He was up66 right in all things, fave in the matter ofUriah."
And how was he flighted by his own children and servants, after he had committed this fin! compare Sam. ii. 30. with 2 Sam. xiil 10, 11. " A wound and dish on our shall he get; and his re- "proach shall not be wiped away.
This is to give thine " honour to another," Prov. v. 9.
The shame and reproach attending it, should be a preservative from it.
Indeed the devil tempts to it by hopes offecrefy and concealment; but though many other fins lie hid, and possibly shall never come to light until thatdayofmanifestation of all hidden things, yet this is afin that is most usually discovered. Under the law, God appointed anextraordinaryway for the discovery of it, Numb. v. 13. And to this day, the providence ofGoddoth often very
in the Scripture-Ginfs.
trangelybring it to light, though it be a deedofdarkness : the Lord hathmanytimes brought such persons, either by terror of conscience, phrenfy, or fomeother means, to be the publishers and proclaimers of their own shame.
Yea, observe this, said the reverend Mr. Hildersham on the fourth of John, even those that are most cunning to conceal and hide it from the eyes of the world, yet through the just judgment of God, every one suspects and condemns them for it : this dashes in pieces, at one stroke, that vessel in which the precious ointment of a good name is carried. A fool in Israel shall be thy title; and even children shall point at.thee.
Arg. 5. It scatters thy substance, and roots up the foundation of thy estate; Job xxxi. 12. " It roots up all thy increase.
Strangers shall be filled with thy wealth, and thy labours " shall be in the house ofa stranger," Prov. v. 10. " Forby means of a whorish woman, a man is brought to amorfelof
" bread," Prov. vi. 26. It gives rags for its livery (faith one) and though it befurtheredbythefulness,yet it is followed with a morsel of bread.
This is one of those temporal judgments with which God punishes theuncleanperson in this life.
The word Delilah, which is the name of a harlot, is conceived to come from a root that signifies to exhaust, drain, or draw dry.
This fin will quickly exhaust the fullest estate ; and, oh ! what a dreadful thing will this be,when God shall require an account of thy stewardship sin the great day! how righteous is it, that thatman should be fuel to the wrath of God,whose health and wealth have been so much fuel to maintain the flame of lust !
Ohow lavish oftheireftates are sinners to satisfy their lusts ! if the members of Christ be sick, or in prison,they may there perish and starve, before they will relieve them; but to obtain their lusts, O how expensive ! " Ask me never so much, and I " will give it," said Shechem, Gen. xxxiv. 12. "Afkwhat
" thou wilt, and it shall be given thee," said Herod to the daughter ofhisHerodias.
Well, you are liberal in spending treasures upon your lusts ; and believe it,God will spend treasures of wrath to punish you for lusts.
It had been a thousand times better for thee thou hadst never had an estate, that thou hadst begged thy bread from door to door,than to have such a fad reckoning as thou shalt shortly have for it.
Arg. 6. O stand off from this sin, because it is a pit, out of which very few have been recovered that have fallen therein.
Few are the foot-steps of returners from this den. The longer a man lives in it, the less power he hath to leave it.
It is not Yy 2
The Harlot's Face, onlyadamning, but an infatuating fin. The danger of fallingthiswaymust needsbegreat, and the fall very desperate, because few that fall into itdoever rise again.
I shall lay two very terrible scriptures before you to this purpose, either of them enough to drive thee speedily to Christ, or to drive thee outofthywits; the one is that, Eccl. vii. 26. "And I find more
" bitter than death, the woman whose heartissmaresand nets, " and her hands as bands : Whoso pleaseth God shall escape
" from her, but the sinner shall be taken by her." The argument which the Spirit ofGoduses here to dissuade from this fin, is taken from the subject ; they that fall into it, for the most part, are persons in whom God has no delight, andfo in judgment are delivered up to it, and never recovered by grace from it.
The other is that in Prov. xxii. 14.
" mouth of a strangewomanis a deep pit; he that is abhor- " red of the Lord shall fall therein." terrible word ! able todaunt the heart of the securest sinner : Your whores embrace you,yea, but God abhors you ! You have their love, Oh bur you areunderGod's hatred ! What say you to these two scrip- " The tures ? If you are not atheists, methinks such a word from the mouthofGod, should strike likeadartthrough thy soul. And upon this account it is that they never are recovered, because
God has no delight in them.
If this be not enough, view one scripture more, Prov. ii. 18, 19. " For her house inclin- " eth unto death, and her paths unto the dead: None thatgo
" to her, return again, neither take they hold of the paths of " life." Reader, if thou be a person addicted to this fin, gothy ways, and think seriously what a case thou art in.
None return again, (i. e.) avery few of many: The examples offuch as have been recovered, are very rare.
Pliny tells us, the mermaids are commonlyseenin green meadows, and have in chanting voices ; but there are always found heaps of dead men'sbones lyingbythem. This maybe but a fabulous story :
But I am sure, it is true of the harlot, whose syren-songs have allured thousands to their inevitable destruction. It is a captivating fin, that leads away the sinner in triumph ; they cannot deliver their souls; Prov. vii. 22. " He goeth after her straight- "way, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool] to the " correction of the stocks." Mark, a fool ; itdementates and befools men, takes awaytheirunderstanding ; the Septuagint renders it, ωσπερ κύων επι δέσμους, as a dog to the collar; or, like as we use to say, a dog ina string. I have read of one, that having by this fin wasted his body, was told by physicians, that except he left it, he would quickly losehiseyes :Heа
in the Scripture-Glass.
answered, if it be so, thenvale lumen amicum, farewel sweet light. And I remember Luther writes ofa certain nobleman in his country, who was so besotted with the fin ofwhoredom, that he was not ashamed to say, that if he might live here for ever, and be carried from one stew to another, he would never defireanyother heaven. The greatest conquerors that have fubduedkingdoms, and scorned to be commanded by any, have been miserably enslaved and captivated by this lust. Othink fadlyupon this argument! God often gives them up to impenitency, and will not spendarodupon them to reclaim them.
SeeHofea iv. 14. Rev. xxii. 11 .
Arg. 7. And then in the 7thplace, thosefewthathave been recovered by repentance out of it, Ohow bitter hathGodmade it to their fouls! "I find it (faith Solomon) more bitter than
" death," Eccl. vii. 26. Death is avery bitterthing ; Owhat a struggling and reluctance is there in nature against it ! But thisismorebitter. PoorDavidfounditso,when he roared under those bloodylashesofconfcience for it, in Psalm li. Ah ! whentheLord shall open the poor sinner'seyes, to fee the horrid guilt he hath hereby contracted upon his own poor soul, it willhaunthim as a ghost, day and night, and terrify his foul with dreadful forms and representations ! O dear bought pleasure, if this were all it thould cost ! What is now become of the pleasure of fin ? O what gall and wormwood wilt thou taste, when once the Lord shall bring thee to a fight of it!
The Hebrew word for repentance (Nachum), andtheGreekword (Met amelia), the one signifies an irking of the soul, and the other signifies, after grief: Yea, it is called, a renting of the heart, as if it were torn in pieces in am an's breast. Ask such a poor soul, what it thinks of such courses now? Oh ! now it loaths, abhors itself for them.
Ask him, if he dare sin in that kind again ? You may as well ask me (will he answer) whether I will thrust my hand into the fire.
Oh ! it breeds an indignation in him against himself.
That word [αγανακλησιν], 2 Cor. vii. 11. signifies the rising of the stomach with very rage, and being sick with anger. Religious wrath is the fierceftwrath. O what a furnace is the breast ofa poor penitent ! what fumes, wht heats do abound in it, whilftthe fin is even before him, and the sense of the guilt upon him ?
One night of carnal pleasure will keep thee many days and nights upon the rack of horror, ifeverGod give thee repentance unto life.
Arg. 8. And if thou never repent, as indeed but few do that fall into this sin, thenconfiderhow God will follow th
The Harlot's Face, with eternal vengeance: Thou shalt have flaming fireforburning lust .
This is a fin that hath the scent of fire and brimstone with it, wherever you meet with it in scripture.
The harlot's guests are lodged in the depths of hell, Prov. ix. 18.
No more perfumed beds; they mustnowhedown in flames.
Whoremongers shall have their part in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone ; which is the second death, Rev. xxi.
Such shall not inherit the kingdom of God and Christ, 1 Cor. vi. 9. No dog shall come intotheNewJerufalem ; there shall in no wife enter in any thing that defileth, or thatworketh abomination.
You have spent your strength upon fin, and now God sets himself a work to shew the glory of his power in punishing, Rom. ix. 22. The wrath of God is transacted upon them in hell by his own immediate hand, Heb. x. 30.
Because no creature is strong enough to convey all his wrath, and it must all be poured out upon them, therefore he himself will torment them for ever with his own immediate power:
Now he will stir up all his wrath, and sinners shall know the price of their pleasures.
The punishment ofSodom is a little map of hell, as I may say. Ohow terrible a day was that upon those unclean wretches ! But that fire was not of many days continuance : When it had consumed them, and their houses, it went out for want of matter : but here, the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, kindles it.
The pleafurewas quickly gone,but the sting and torment abide for ever. "Who knoweth the power of his anger? Even according
" to his fear, so is his wrath," Psalm xc. 11.Oh confider, how will his almighty power rack and torment thee ! Think on this when fin comes with a smiling face towards thee in the temptation. O think ! If thehumannature of Christ recoiled, when his cup of wrath was given him to drink; if he were fore amazed at it, how shalt thou, a poor worm, bear and grapple with it for ever ?
Arg. 9. Confider further, how closely soever thou carrieft thy wickedness in this world,tho' it should never be discovered here, yet there is a day coming when all will out, and that before angels and men. God will rip up thyfecret fins in the face of that great congregation at the day of judgment : Then that which was done in secret shall be proclaimed as upon the house-top, Luke xii. 3. "Then God will judge the secrets of " men," Rom. ii. 16. " the hidden things of darkness will
" be brought into the open light."
Sinner, there will be no sculking for thee in the grave, no declining this bar; thou refusedst, indeed, to come to the throne of grace, when God
in the Scripture-Glass.
invited thee,buttherewillbe no refusing to appear before the barofjustice,when Christ shallfummonthee. And as thou canst not decline appearing, so neither canst thou then palliate and hide thy wickedness any longer ; for then shall the books be opened; the book of God's omniscience, and the book of thine own conscience,wherein all thy secretvillany is recorded; for though it ceased to speak to thee,yet it ceasednottowrite and recordthyactions.
If thy shameful sins should be divulged now, it would make thee tear off thy hair with indignation ; but then all will be discovered : Angels and men shall point at thee, and say, lo, this is the man, this is he that carried it fo smoothly in the world.
Mr. Thomas Fuller relates a ftoryof Ottocar king ofBohemia, who, refusing to do his homage to • Rodulphus the first emperor, being at last sorely chastised
• with war, condescended to do him homageprivatelyin a tent ; • but the tent was so contrived by the emperor's servants,
• (faith the historian) that,by drawing one cord, it was taken all away, and fo Ottocarpresented on his knees, doing homage to the emperor in the view of three armies.' O firs, you thinktocarry it closely, you wait for the twilight, that none may see you ; but, alas ! it will be to no end, this day will discover it ; and then what confusion and everlasting shame will cover thee ! Will not this work then ?
Arg. 10. Lastly, confider but one thing more, and I have done. By this finthoudost not only damn thine own soul, but drawest another to hell with thee.
This fin is not as a single bullet that kills but one, but as a chain-shot, it kills many, two at least, unless God give repentance. And if he should give thee repentance, yet the other party may never repent, and so perish for ever through thy wickedness; and, oh! what a fad consideration will that be to thee, that such a poor foul is in hell,or likely togo thither by thy means ? Thou haftmade fast a snare upon a foul,which thou canst not untie, thou haftdone that which maybe matter of for row to thee as long as thou livest; but though thou canstgrieve for it, thou canît not remedy it.
In other fins it is not so: ifthouhadft stollen another's goods, restitution might be made to the injured party,butherecanbe none: if thou had it murdered another, thy fin was thine own, not his that was murdered by thee: but this isa complicated fin,defiling both at once ; and if neither repent, then, oh ! what a fad greeting will these poor wretches have in hell! howwillthey curse the day, that ever theysaweachother's face!Owhat anaggravationoftheirmifery will thisbe! For look,as it will be mater of joy in heaven,
The Harlot's Face 車 tobeholdsuch there as we have been instrumental to save, fo must it needs be a stinging aggravation of the misery of the damned, to look upon those that have been the instruments and means of their damnation. Oh, methinks, if there be any tenderness at all in thy conscience, if this finhave not totally brawnedand stupifiedthee,these arguments should pierce like afwordthrough thy guilty foul. Reader, Ibefeech thee, by the mercies of God, if thou hast defiled thy foul by this abo minable fin, speedily to repent. O get the blood of sprinkling upon thee; there is yet mercy for such a wretch as thou art, ifthouwilt accept the terms of it. " Such were some of you,
" but ye are washed," 1 Cor. vi. 11. Publicansandharlotsmay enter into the kingdom of God,Matth. xxi. 31. Though but few such are recovered, yet how knowestthou but the hand of mercy may pull thee, as a brand out of the fire, if now thou wilt return and seek it with tears ? Though it be afire that con fumeth unto destruction, as Job calls it, Job xxxi. 12. yet it is not an unquenchable fire, the blood of Christ can quench it.
AndforyouwhomGod hathkepthitherto from the conta gionofit, O bless the Lord, and use all God's means for the prevention of it.
The feeds of this fin areinthynature ; no thanks to thee, but restraining grace, that thou art not delivered up to it also..And that thou mayestbe kept out of this pit, confcionablypractise these few directions.
Direct. 1. Beg of Godaclean heart, renewed and fanctifi edby saving grace; all other endeavours do but palliatea cure:the root of this is deep in thy nature ; O get that mortified, Matth. xv. 19. " Out of the heart proceed fornication,
" adulteries."
1 Pet. ii. 11 , 12. " Abstain from fleshly lusts, " -having your converfationhonest." The lust must first be subdued, before the conversation can be honest.
Direct. 2. Walk in the fear of God all the day long, and in the sense of his omniscient eye that is ever upon thee. This kept Joseph from this fin, Gen. xxxix. 9. " How can I do this
" wickedness, and fin against God ?" Consider, the darkness hideth not from him, but shineth as the light. Ifthoucouldt i find a place where the eye ofGodcould not discover thee, it were somewhat: thou dareft not to act this wickedness in the presence of a child, and wiltthou adventure to commititbeforethefaceofGod? fee that argument,Prov.v.20,21. "And " whywiltthou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman,
" and embracethebosom of a stranger ? For the ways of man " are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his
"goings."
in the Scripture-Glass.
Direct. 3. Avoidlewdcompany, and thesocietyofunclean persons; they are but panders for lust. Evil communication corrupts good manners.
The tongues of finnersdo cast fireballs into the hearts of each other, which the corruption with. in is easilykindledandenflamed by.
Direct. 4. Exercise thyself in thy calling diligently; it will beanexcellentmeans of preventing this fin.
It isa good observationthatone hath, That Ifael was safer in the brick-kilns inEgypt, than in the plains ofMoab. 2 Sam. xi. 2. " And it
" came to pass in the even-tide, thatDavid arose from off his "bed, and walked on the roof of the king's house ;" and this was the occasion of his fall.
See 1 Tim. v. 11, 13.
Direct. 5. Put a restraint upon thine appetite : feed not to excess.
Fulness of bread and idleness were the fins of Sodom, that occasioned such an exuberancy of lust *. " They are like
" fed horses, every one neighing after his neighbour's wife.
" When I had fed them to the full, then they committed a- " dultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlot's
" houses," Jer. v. 7, 8. This is a sad requitalof the bounty of God, in giving us the enjoyment of the creatures, to make them fuel to lust, and instruments of fin.
Direct.6.Make choice of a meetyoke-fellow, and delight in her you have chosen. This is a lawful remedy: See 1 Cor. vii. 9. God ordained it, Gen. ii. 21. But herein appears the corruption of nature, that men delight to tread by-paths, and forsake the way which God hath appointed; as that divine poet, Mr. Herbert, faith, If God had laid all common, certainly Man would have been the closer: but since now
•God hath impall'd us, on the contrary, Man breaks the fence, and every groundwillplow.
Owhat were man, might he himself misplace !
Sure, to be cross, he would shift feet and face.
Stolen waters are sweeter to them than those waters they might lawfully drinkattheirown fountain: Butwithal know, it is not the having,butthedelightinginalawful wife, as God requires you to do, that must be a fence against this fin. So Solomon, Prov. v. 19. " Let her be as the loving hind, and " pleafantroe; let her breasts fatisfytheeatalltimes, and be
" thou ravished always with her love." ;
VOL . VI.
Zz * Sine Cerere et Bacchofriget Venus,