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To this is added, Witchcraft; which is the having recourse to Wizards or Sorcerers, and afcribing to them the Knowledge of paft and future Things, which belongs to God only.

Moreover, All kinds of Variance, which imply fome of the lower Degrees of Difference and Diffention; all Hatred, which rifes fomewhat higher, and betokens an evil Mind; Wrath, which goes higher ftill, and fuppofes Rancour and Malice, and ends fometimes in Murder and Destruction: Yea, all manner of Strife and Contention, which make Men uneafy to themselves and others, are here reckon'd among the Lufts of the Flefb.

Furthermore, Emulations, in the Original Cλor, which fignifies a falfe and counterfeit Zeal in Matters of Religion; Seditions, which imply Factions and Disturbance in the State; Herefies, which are Divifions and Disorders in the Church; are here truly number'd among the Works of the Flefb.

Next to thefe follow bitter Envyings and Contentions, the fad Effects of Divifions both in Church and State; which, however palliated and colour'd over with Pretences of Religion, are the known and natural Confequence of these things.

Lastly, To bring up the Rear, come Drunkenness, Revellings, and fuch like, which are the grofs Abuses of God's Creatures, and the miferable Evils of a fenfual and licentious Appetite.

This is a brief account of the finful Lufts of the Flesh, which in our Baptifm we renounce, and of which the Apostle declares, That they who do fuch things, shall not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. From whence I proceed,

Secondly, To fhew how we are to renounce or abstain from these fleshly Lufts. And here we may note,

1. That there is an innocent and lawful Ufe of fenfual Pleasures, tending to the Refreshment of human Nature, and to ease the Cares of human Life; so that these are not abfolutely to be renounc'd, but only when they become finful by Inordinacy and Excess.

2.

We are to abftain not only from the outward Acts of those Sins, but from the inward Motions and Defires after them; hating the very Garment fpotted with the Flesh, and avoiding all the Occafions and Appearances of Evil. Tis not enough to abstain from thefe fefhly Lufts from

a Principle of Shame or Fear of Punishment; for fuch will commit all Uncleannefs with greedinefs, if they can but efcape the Eye and Cenfure of the World. But it must proceed from an inward Hatred and Deteftation of them, not cherishing any unchafte Hankerings or Defires, nor fuffering vain Thoughts to lodge or harbour within us.

3. We must renounce All the finful Lufts of the Flesh, not lopping off this or that Limb or Branch only, but laying the Ax to the very Root, and cutting down the whole Body of Sin. There must be no Indulgence given to any one flefhly Luft, nor muft any vicious Inclinations reign in us; For the Wrath of God is reveal'd from Heaven against all Ungodliness of Men: Rom. 1. 18. And whofo keepeth the whole Law, and offends in one point, is guilty of all: Jam. 2. 10. One Breach in a Wall may let in the Enemy, and one Leak in a Ship may fink the whole Veffel in like manner, one Luft unmortify'd may fink the Soul, and drown it in Deftruction and Perdition. This Renunciation must be univerfal, extending to all the finful Lufts of the Flefh; not fparing Agag, or cherishing a reserve of kindness for any beloved Luft; but breaking off Correfpondence with all, even the most darling Vice, tho it may be as dear to us as a right Eye, and we as loth to part with it as with a right Hand: Mat. 5.

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29, 30.

Lattly, Our renouncing these finful Lufts must be univerfal in refpect of Time too; that is, we must fo caft them off, as not to turn to them any more. Our being wash'd in the Waters of Baptifm will be of no avail, if we return with the Dog to his Vomit, and the Sow that was wash'd to her wallowing in the Mire. If we hope to receive the Benefits and Privileges of Baptifm, we must utterly abandon these fleshly Lufts, and fo bid adieu to them as not to return again to Folly.

Having then fuch rich and precious Promifes made to us in Fefus Chrift, let us (as the Apostle directs) cleanse ourfelves from all Filthiness of Flefb and Spirit, and perfect Holiness in the Fear of God. Thus we fee what the finful Lufts of the Flefh are, and how we are to renounce them. I proceed then,

Thirdly, To the Obligation that lies upon all Chriftians fo to do; and this is very strong and indispenfible: arifing,

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1. From

1. From the Precept and Command of God, who requires this from us; This is the Will of God, (faith the Apoftle) even your Sanctification, that every one should know how to poffefs his Veffel in Sanctification and Honour ; not in the Luft of Concupifcence, even as the Gentiles that know not God: I Theff. 4. We find a ftrict Charge laid upon us, to deny all Ungodliness and Worldly Lufts; and elfewhere, to put off, concerning the former Converfation, the old Man, which is corrupt, according to the deceitful Lufts, and to be renew'd in the Spirit of our Mind. To this purpofe are thofe frequent Exhortations, Not to live or walk after the Flesh; To make no Provision for it to fulfil the Lufts thereof; To mortify our earthly Members; and the like. All which being tho exprefs Commands of him whom we are bound above all things to obey, muft carry a strong Obligation with them.

2. This Obligation is increas'd upon us from our own Promife: for at our entrance into the Church, we folemnly difclaim'd and abandon'd all the finful Lufts of the Flesh; we enter'd into a holy War, not only againft the Devil and the World, but against this home-bred Enemy the Flesh, that wars against the Soul. Now all thofe that have retain'd any Senfe of Religion or Honefly, have ever thought themfelves bound by their Word, and no Tie has been esteem'd fo facred and obliging as that of a Vow; and confequently having folemnly engag'd at our Baptifm to abftain from flefhly Lufts, we ftand oblig'd in Honour and Confcience to obferve and perform it.

Laftly, Both the Defign and Dignity of our Profeffion obliges us to renounce the finful Lufts of the Flesh; for the end of it is to fubdue and mortify our corrupt Affections, and it must be mightily difhonourable for us to be led captive by them. Chrift has call'd us out of the World to be a peculiar People, and therefore wills us to purify ourfelves, even as he is pure. Now as nothing can better adorn our high and holy Calling, than a chafte Converfation coupled with Fear; fo nothing can more blemish and befpatter it, than a filthy and debauch'd Converfation. In a word, without abandoning thefe finful Lufts, we can neither anfwer the End, nor obtain the Reward of our Chriftianity.

Wherefore let me befeech you, Dearly beloved, as Pilgrims and Strangers, to abstain from fleshly Lufts, which xar against the Soul.

If

If you need any farther Arguments to arm you against this inbred Foe, the Apoftle minds us here of two weighty Motives to that end: The one taken from our State and Condition in this Life, which is that of Strangers and Pilgrims, and fo not to be taken up with thefe vile and brutifh Satisfactions: The other, from the extreme Danger and Damage of them; They war against the Soul. A word or two of each: And,

Ift, Our State and Condition in this World, which is that of Strangers and Pilgrims, requires us to abstain from fleshly Lufts. A Pilgrim, you know, will not take up in a ftrange Land, or be diverted from the Love and Bufinefs of his own Country, by any feeming Satisfaction he may meet with out of it; he is ftill paffing on, and will not by the entertainment of an Inn become unmindful of the Comforts and Happinefs of his own Home, and therefore cannot be satisfied till he return to it.

Why, we are all Pilgrims and Strangers in this World, we have here no abiding City, but feek one to come; our Country is elsewhere, and it must be very improper for us to take up with the fenfual Pleafures and Delights of this World, when we belong to another, and are daily marching and travelling towards it. Our Converfation (faith the Apoftle) or, as 'tis in the Original, our Citizen fhip or Abode is in Heaven; this World is only a tranfitory Paffage to it: Let thofe that belong to this World please themfelves, if they can, in the carnal and fenfual Satisfactions of it; as for us that are enfranchis'd and made free of a better, we are to keep on in our way to it, and not be delay'd or diverted out of it by any of the fly Infinuations of the World, the Flesh, or the Devil. This we find the Patriarchs did, who confefs'd themfelves Strangers and Pilgrims upon Earth, and thereby declar'd they fought and belong'd to another Country, and therefore would not be inveigled with the Pleafures of this; and we too must do the fame, if we mean to follow them to the fame Place.

But there is another and greater Argument yet to dif fuade us from these fleshly Lufts: and that is taken from the

Unfpeakable Mischief and Damage done by them; they war against the Soul. Solomon tells us, That he that finneth against God, wrongeth his own Soul; St. Paul, That he that commits Fornication, wrongeth his own Body; and St. Peter, That fenfual Lufts war against the Soul. They war against

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the animal Soul or Life, by fhortning our Days, and bringing that Rottennefs into the Bones which frequently occafions fudden and untimely Death.

They war against the rational and immortal Soul, and bring on it vaft and fundry Inconveniences. As,

1. They deftroy the Purity of the Soul, and bring on it the fouleft Pollution and Defilement.

2. They debafe the Honour and Dignity of the Soul, by defacing the Image of God in it, and degrading it beneath the Beast that perifhes. They bring Blindness and Darknefs into the Understanding, Disorder into the Will and Affections, Confufion and Weakness into all the Faculties.

3. They war against the Liberty of the Soul, by bringing it into the bafeft and vileft Bondage.

4. They war against the Peace of the Soul, by filling it with perpetual Trouble and Anxiety.

Laftly, They war against the eternal Happiness and Salvation of the Soul, by depriving it of the bleffed Vifion and Enjoyment of God, and dooming it for ever to the wretched Society of the Devil and his Angels.

Thefe, and far greater Evils than can be exprefs'd or conceiv'd, are the miferable Effects of this unhappy War, where these fleshly Lufts prevail and domineer; which is fufficient to arm us with the greatest Courage and Refolution against them. Thus we have feen the Three great Enemies of Chrift and our Salvation, The Devil, the World, and the Flesh, which we renounce in our Baptifm, and must encounter in the whole courfe of our Lives ever after. By all which it appears,

How truly Chriftianity is ftyl'd a Warfare, where, when we enter on it, we do as it were enter the Field, and muft expect to be affaulted on every fide. However, we have feen their Wiles and Temptations, and how we may be enabled to refift and vanquish them; for greater is he that is for us, than they that are against us: So that if we fight manfully under his Banner, and continue his faithful Servants and Soldiers (as we have promis'd) to our Lives end, we fhall be fure to be victorious, and become more than Conquerors thro' Chrift that loved us.

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