§. IX. But laftly, the grand indifpofition of mind in people to folid, ferious, and heavenly meditations, by the almost continual as well as pleasant rumination in their minds, of those various adventures they have been entertained with, which in the more youthful can never mifs to inflame and animate their boiling and airy conftitutions. And in the rest of the common recreations of balls, mafques, treats, cards, dice, &c. there are the like opportunities to promote the like evils. And yet farther; how many quarrels, animofities, nay murders too, as well as expence of eftate and precious time, have been the immediate confequences of the like practices? In fhort, these were the ways of the Gentiles that knew not God", but never the practice of them that feared him: nay, the more noble among the Heathens themselves, namely, Anaxagoras, Socrates, Plato, Antifthenes, Heraclitus, Zeno, Ariftides, Cato, Tully, Epictetus, Seneca, &c. have left their disgust to these things upon record, as odious and deftructive, not only of the honour of the immortal God, but of all good order and government, as leading into loosenefs, idleness, ignorance and effeminacy, the great cankers, and bane of all states and empires. But such is the latitudinarian impudence of this age, that they canonize themselves for faints, if not guilty of every Newgate-filth, and kennel-impiety. And the pretended innocency of these things fteals away their minds from that which is better, into the love of them: nay, it gives them confidence to plead for them, and by no means will they think the contrary: but why? because it is a liberty that feeds the flesh, and gratifies the luftful eye and palate of poor mortality: wherefore they think it a laudable condition to be no better than the beast that eats and drinks but what his nature doth require, although the number is very fmall of fuch. So very exorbitant are men and women grown in this prefent age: for either they do believe their actions are

t Job xxxv. 13.

Eph. iv. 17 to 25.

to

to be ruled by their own wills; or else, at beft, that not to be stained with the vileft wickedness is matter of great boasting and indeed it is fo, in a time when nothing is too wicked to be done. But certainly, it is a fign of universal impiety, in a land, when not to be guilty of fins, the very Heathens loathe, is to be virtuous, yes, and Christian too, and that to no small degree of reputation: a difmal fymptom to a country! But is it not to be greatly blinded, that those we call infidels fhould deteft thofe practices as infamous, which people, that call themfelves Chriftians, cannot or will not fee to be fuch, but guild them over with the fair titles of ornaments, decency, recreation, and the like. Well, my friends, if there were no God, no heaven, no hell, no holy examples, no Jefus Christ, in cross, doctrine and life to be conformed unto; yet would charity to the poor, help to the needy, peace among neighbours, vifits to the fick, care of the widow and fatherlefs", with the rest of those temporal good offices already repeated, be a nobler employment, and much more worthy of your expence and pains. Nor indeed is it to be conceived, that the way to glory is finoothed with fuch variety of carnal pleasures; for then conviction, a wounded fpirit, a broken heart, a regenerate mind, in a word, immortality would prove as meer fictions as fome make them, and others therefore think them: no, these practices are for ever to be extinguished, and expelled all Christian society. For I affirm, that to one who internally knows God, and hath a sense of his bleffed prefence, all fuch recreations are death; yea, more dangerously evil, and more apt to steal away the mind from the heavenly exercife, than groffer impieties. For they are fo big, they are plainly feen; fo dirty, they are easily detected: which education and common temperance, as well as conftitution in many, teach them to abhor; and if they fhould be committed, they carry with them a proportional conviction. But these pre

tended innocents, thefe fuppofed harmless fatisfactions, are more furprizing, more deftructive; for as they eafily gain an admiffion by the fenfes, fo the more they pretend to innocency, the more they fecure the minds of people in the common ufe of them; till they become fo infenfible of their evil confequences, that with a mighty confidence they can plead for them ".

§. X. But as this is plainly not to deny themselves, but, on the contrary, to employ the vain inventions of carnal men and women to gratify the defire of the eye, the defire of the flesh, and the pride of life'; all which exercife the mind below the divine and only true pleafure, or elfe, tell me what does: fo, be it known to fuch, that the Heavenly life and Chriftian joys are of another kind, as hath already been expreffed: nay, that the true difciples of the Lord Chrift must be hereunto crucified, as to objects and employments that attract downwards, and that their affections fhould be raised to a more fublime and fpiritual converfation, as to use this world, even in its most innocent enjoyments, as if they used it not. But if they take pleasure in any thing below, it should be in fuch good offices as beforementioned; whereby a benefit may redound in fome refpect to others in which God is honoured over all visible things, the nation relieved, the government bettered, themselves rendered exemplary of good, and thereby juftly intituled to prefent happiness, a fweet memorial with pofterity, as well as to a feat at his right hand, where there are joys and pleasures for ever: than which, there can be nothing more honourable, nothing more certain, world without end".

CHAP. XVI.

§. 1. Luxury fhould not be used by Chriftians, because of its inconfistency with the Spirit of Chriftianity. §. 2. The cup of which Chrift's true disciples drank. §. 3. O! who will drink of this cup? §. 4. An objection answered of the nature of God's kingdom, and what it ftands in. §. 5. Of the frame of the spirit of Chrift's followers.

§. I. B

UT the luxury oppofed in this discourse, should not be allowed among Chriftians, because both that which invents it, delights in it, and pleads fo ftrongly for it, is inconfiftent with the true Spirit of Christianity; nor doth the very nature of the Christian religion admit thereof. For therefore was it, that immortality and eternal life were brought to light, that all the invented pleasures of mortal life, in which the world lives, might be denied and relinquifhed; and for this reafon it is, that nothing less than immenfe rewards and eternal manfions are promised, that men and women might therefore be encouraged willingly to forfake the vanity and fleshly satisfactions of the world, and encounter with boldness the shame and fufferings they must expect to receive at the hand of, it may be, their nearest intimates and relations 2.

For if the Chriftian religion had admitted the poffeffion of this world in any other sense, than the simple and naked use of thofe creatures really given of God for the neceffity and convenience of the whole creation: for inftance, did it allow all that pride, vanity, curiosity, pomp, exchange of apparel, honours, preferments, fashions, and the customary recreations of the world, with whatever may delight and gratify their fenses; then what need of a daily crofs, a felf-denying life, working out falvation with fear and trembling, feek

ch. xvi. 20.

2 Luke xvi. 15. John xv. 17, 18, 19. 15, 16, 17. Heb. xi. 24, 25, 26, 27. Rom. viii. 19. Heb. xii. 1, 2.

II, 12.

ch. xvii. 2 Tim. iii

ing the things that are above, having the treasure and heart in heaven, no idle talking, no vain jefting, but fearing and meditating all the day long, undergoing all reproach, scorn, hard ufage, bitter mockings and cruel deaths? What need these things? and why fhould they be expected in order to that glorious immortality and eternal crown, if the vanity, pride, expence, idleness, concupifcence, envy, malice, and whole manner of living among the (called) Chriftians, were allowed by the Christian religion? No certainly; but as the Lord Jefus Christ well knew in what foolish trifles and vain pleafures, as well as groffer impieties, the minds of men and women were fixed, and how much they were degenerated from the heavenly principle of life, into a luftful or unlawful feeking after the enjoyments of this perishing world, nay, inventing daily new fatisfactions to gratify their carnal appetites, fo did he not less forefee the difficulty that all would have to relinquish and forfake them at his call, and with what great unwillingness they would take their leave of them, and be weaned from them. Wherefore to induce them to it, he did not speak unto them in the language of the law, that they should have an earthly Canaan, great dignities, a numerous iffue, a long life, and the like: no, rather the contrary, at least to take these things in their courfe"; but he speaks to them in a higher strain, namely, He affures them of a kingdom and a crown that are immortal, that neither time, cruelty, death, grave or hell, with all its instruments, fhall ever be able to disappoint, or take away, from those that should believe and obey him. Farther, that they should be taken into that near alliance of loving friends, yea, the intimate divine relation of dear brethren, and co-heirs with him of all celestial happiness, and a glorious immortality. Wherefore if it be recorded, that those who heard not Mofes, were to die, much more they who refuse to hear and obey

Mat. xvi. 24. Luke ix. 23. Phil. ii. 12. Col. iii. 1, 2. Eph. v. 4, 5. Neh. xiii. exix. 97. Luke xviii. 23.

Pfal. cxii. 1. Ha. xxviii. 14. Pfal. Heb. xi. 16. ch. x. 33. ch. xi. 37, 38.

the