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too much to our own apprehenfions: but the guidance of our pastor is one of the means God affords for our improvement, and his affiftance is very neceffary to preferve us from being impofed upon. Remember that the careless and fecure live in continual hazard of their own eternal lofs; and that, if we would be faved, we must continually watch against all temptations: for the judge of eternal life and death declares, What I fay unto you, I fay unto all; watch.

V. Having confidered those christian virtues, which in a proper manner respect our fouls; let us now pro- Duties to ceed to thofe virtues which in a more particular our bodies. manner regard our bodies.

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The first of thefe duties is the virtue of CHASTITY or PURITY; because, as the apostle declares, He that Of chastity. committeth fornication finneth against his own body. This virtue confifts in abftaining not only from adultery and fornication, but from all other more unnatural forts of it, committed either upon ourselves, or with any others; fo that it is a due government of thofe appetites, which God has planted in us for the increase of mankind, which must be confined within the bounds of lawful matrimony; fince any other method of gratifying them is contrary to that rity which the gofpel enjoins. And even in that state men are not to give a loose to their appetites like brute beasts which have no understanding; but to keep themselves within the modeft rules of a marriage state, which being ordained for the begetting of children to be brought up in the fear of God, and for a remedy against fin, and to avoid fornication, fo as to keep ourselves undefiled members of Christ's body, nothing must be committed, which may hinder the first reafon for marriage; and they who prostitute that holy state to the heightening and inflaming their luft, act contrary to the second reason, which only propofes marriage as the means to fubdue luft, and to keep men from any finful effects of it; for, This is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abftain from fornication, that every one should know how to poffefs his veffel in fanctification and honour; not in the luft of concupifcence, as the Gentiles, which know not God: for God has not called us unto

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uncleanness, but unto holiness. Yet in feeing, hearing, and touching, many conclude themfelves innocent, while free from the luftful deed, and indulge themfelves in all liberties fhort of the laft act of uncleannefs.

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gree.

But

He that fuffers his eyes to rove, and fixes them upon a forUcleannes bidden object, will be apt to commit adultery, forbidden in according to that obfervation of our Saviour, He Lowest de- that looketh on a woman to luft after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And we ought rather to cut off our hand than to be guilty of the least uncleannefs therewith; neither muft we fuffer any evil communication to proceed out of our mouth. He that indulges any of his fenfes fo far, as to excite any defire of forbidden pleasures, defiles his foul therewith. And they, that would preferve their innocence, muft keep their eyes, their ears, and their hands chafte; that is, they muft neither look upon, read, hear, nor touch any thing that may inflame or difpofe them in any manner to gratify their finful paffions. For,

When luft is conceived, it bringeth forth fin: and when The mil we are thus fet upon a precipice, corrupt nature chiefs of it. pushes us upon the ruin of ourselves. The great neglect of this virtue produces much of that irreligion, which prevails in the world; for if early breaches of innocence had not been made by indulging finful paffions, men's minds would not be fo averfe from entertaining the principles of religion founded in the true reafon and interest of mankind: for when the fpirit is fubdued by the flesh, the obligations of religion begin to lofe their force; the means of religionare first neglected, and then the principles of it begin to be queftioned; and by degrees men are made fuch flaves To the foul. to their lufts, that their recovery is defperate, and they are rarely awakened to a sense of their follies, till the miferies of a fad eternity drive them, when it is too late, to repent.

Befides, the finning against our bodies, as the apostle calls it, expofes us to trouble and vexation of mind; To the body. for if the unclean finner has not caft off the fear of God, a virtuous education, God's all-fearching eye, from

which

The

which nothing can be hid, a dreadful judgment, which nothing can turn away, a devouring fire, which must be his portion to all eternity, will continually awaken him to repentance, and fill him with the horror of his fins. And, if he has even ftified the checks of his confcience, the eye of man must still be fhunned and avoided; for, as bad as the world is, vice has not the current ftamp: meafures must be concerted, opportunities must be fought for, our beft friends must be impofed upon, and every minute we must tremble for fear of being difcovered in our vicious habit. It can hardly be expreffed what fears croud upon young perfons feduced by this paffion, if there be the leaft remains of modesty and fenfe of honour left; nay the anguifh of fome people's minds upon these occasions has risen so high, that they have made away with themselves to get rid of its torture. acute and filthy pains and diseases it brings upon the body, the fhame and dishonour which is reaped among men, and the base and dishonourable actions which are the too common supports of fuch crimes, may convince the finner how dearly he purchases the forbidden pleasures of his luftful appetites. For they, who are under the power of these evil habits, know the force of them; and, notwithstanding their ferious refolution at some times, the horror of their condi→ tion, their uneafinefs from the expence that attends their extravagancies, are not able to break their chains. And To the former mifchief we must add the judgments of God against this vice of uncleannefs; fome of the moft extraordinary is the deftruction of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone from hea- God against ven; and the untimely death of Amnon, as alfo ". of Zimri and Cofbi (who were flain in the very act) should deter the most vicious from the evil of their way: and rather, because God, who feeth all things, and hath made man to be the temple of his Holy Spirit, declares, by his apostle, That if any man defile the temple of God he thall be deftroyed. Thus

The judg

ments of

it.

boa.

It is easy to infer the deplorable state of an un- It fout's out clean perfon, who, being cut off by the hand of from hea divine justice, is shut out of the kingdom of heaven; ven.

becaufe

becaufe nothing impure can dwell therein; and configned to the flames of hell, to be punished for the luftful flames Against the of his flesh. I therefore conclude, that notwithlaw of na- standing the ill-bred and brutal talk of libertines, tions. than which nothing can be more brutal, except it be their actions: fornication is a crime; because it is to do that which can never be for the good of the world, that it fhould be univerfally done; it being impoffible, that any particular practice should be warrantable, which, if it became general, would be introductive of disorder and confufion. For that is confeffedly contrary to the laws of nature, which, if univerfally practifed, would interfere with the general peace and happinefs of mankind. In cafes, where one has as much right to gratify himself as another; whatever would be big with evils, and productive of misery, if all men were to do it, cannot, for that very reason, be lawful to any man: because any man by fo doing contributes his share to the introduction of that mifery and diforder.

VI. Perhaps the first motions of our paffions may not be Helps to under our government, and that we may not be chafity. anfwerable for them; but it is in our own power to stifle and suppress them, to reject them with horror and confufion, and to apply our minds vigorously upon other objects, which will certainly divert them; because the frame of our nature is not capable of dwelling at the fame time intirely upon two things. Wherefore we must take care not to indulge any filthy fancies, we muft caft away every scene of luft, that reprefents itself to us, with indignation; and here our fecurity lies in flight, rather than looking the temptation in the face. And as we muft govern our thoughts by looking forward, fo we muft guard against obfcene remembrances of what is paft; for this is deliberately to delight ourselves with fuch follies, in which, it may be, we have been at first engaged by rashness and furprife. The greateft fign of a corrupt heart is filthy and unclean difcourfe: therefore we must take care that our speech does not betray the diforder of our hearts, and especially that our words be free from open lewdness, and from any double meaning; and never to make use of words capable of feveral fenfes, with a defign to create any

unchafte

unchaste thoughts in those we converfe with: nay, we must even avoid conveying any unchafte thought to our neighbour, tho' we can preferve ourselves from blame in the way of expreffing it: for this manner of offending does moft hurt, because the poison is gilded and made palatable: whereas downright filthy talk shocks at first hearing, and, being directly oppofite to natural modefty, has not fo bad an influence upon the hearers. In reports alfo concerning others, we must not fo repeat particulars, as to offend chriftian modefty; for hereby we contract too great a familiarity with idle discourse, and corrupt the minds of the hearers, by entertaining them with fuch things which they should never learn, but should forget as foon as they chance to hear them. Filthy converfation is most unbecoming in those who are advanced in years; because it argues a mind extremely depraved, and gives too great countenance to youthful follies. They that refolve to keep their bodies in chastity must not pamper them, nor exceed in meat and drink: for which purpose fafting has in all ages been made use of; and among the many reasons that inforce the practice of it, it is not the leaft confiderable, that it restrains the loofer appetites of the flesh, and disposes us to fobriety and seriousness: and when we abate of the rigour of fafting, we should not forget to abstain from fuch food as is most nourishing to the body; for feeding to the full betrays us to loose mirth, and pampers the unhappy disease of our nature, which it is our chief bufinefs to cure and overcome. We must also divert our thoughts from dwelling upon forbidden objects; we must do our duty in our proper callings; for, when we are profecuting any art or science, when we are employed in any innocent business, or any lawful calling, we are not at leifure to entertain thoughts of pleasure; and, as the appetites of our bodies frequently follow the bent of our minds, that which we most think of we are readieft to do; confequently our great care ought to be to keep ourselves always employed. If we are engaged in a calling, let us profecute it with diligence and application: if our condition and quality fettles us above a profeffion, let the care of our own eftate, and the acquiring fuch knowledge as may be ferviceable to ourselves and our neighbour, challenge a great share

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