Chapter XXIII: Part 23

If it were my business to make a flourish with learned citations, it were an easy matter to bring the Greeks and Romans hither to pass sentence upon the glutton and the drunkard, and all the luxury of the taste; for it is too mean an indulgence either for a man or a christian. It does not become human nature to endanger the welfare of all its powers, and enslave them all to the single sense of tasting, “I am greater, says Seneca, and born to greater things, than to be a slave to this body, or to live merely to become a strainer of meats and drinks.” The wisest of men, and the best writers of all ages, even in the heathen nations, have passed their heavy censures on these impure and brutal follies, whereby we are reduced to the rank of beasts that perish, or perhaps sunk below them by the practices of intemperance; for there are but few of that lower rank of creatures, who swill themselves beyond the demands of nature; or, at least, beyond what nature is able to bear.

Let us argue a little upon this head from the principles of reason, and consider that the chief designs of food are these two, the support of our nature, and the refreshment of our spirits. Therefore give food to him that is hungry, that life may be maintained: Give drink to him that is thirsty, to assist the supports of life, and to refresh it. Give strong drink to him that is ready to faint, that his spirits may be recruited: and wine to him that is heavy of heart, that he may forget his sorrows; Prov. xxxi. 6, 7. It is evident that every thing, which goes beyond the mere necessity of nature for its support, does not presently become sinful; because the refreshment of nature is also one end and design of our food. Remember that the supports of nature are designed by the God of nature to make us fit for all the services and duties of life, and the refreshments of it are ordained by the same Author of nature, to render us chearful in the discharge of those duties. The one is necessary to give us a capacity to perform, and the other proper to render the performance chearful and delightful to us, and to intermingle our labour with such innocent delights as may awaken our thankfulness to the bounty of our Creator.

Thence it will follow, that the rich are allowed to furnish their tables with a variety of pleasing and grateful food; and that feasts designed for chearful enjoyment of our friends, are by no means forbidden by the light of reason, or of scripture: For we gain vigour for action, by having the spirits raised and exhilerated. But it will follow also, that when we have our choice of what we shall eat or drink, we ought to determine not merely by pleasure and appetite, nor feed till we are unfit for service. If we know, or have a good guess beforehand, that this cup, or this dish, will render us unfit for the proper business of the day, or incapable of the several duties we are called to; yet if, for the sake of mere sensuality, we venture upon it, God will number it among our sins against the light of nature. Those ends therefore for which God hath ordained our various food, both in his creation and in his providence, namely, the support of nature, and its refreshment; let these be our designs in eating, and give rules for our determination what food we should partake of.

It must be granted indeed, that a sickly person may be indulged in more solicitude about food, and may make it a matter of more distinguishing choice than persons vigorous and healthy. But then the great end must still be kept in the eye, that is, the recovery of strength for future service, where they are much cut off from present work: For neither the sick nor the healthy, should live for the sake of eating, but both should eat for the sake of living and working.

Now if the light of nature requires such purity and temperance, how much more doth the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ oblige us to it?

I. It is the command of our Redeemer, “that we take heed of surfeiting and drunkenness, lest our hearts at any time be overcharged with them;” Luke xxi. 34. And what charge doth the holy apostle give, Eph. v. 18. _Be not drunken with wine_, wherein is excess, _but be ye filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs_. Do not be so indulgent to your palate and your glass, as to let excess of wine overtake you, lest you christians should do as heathens have done, and break out into irregular songs, and licentious or profane mirth; but seek rather the largest influences of the blessed Spirit, and give a sacred loose to a devout frame: Break out into divine psalms or songs; comfort yourselves, and edify your neighbours thereby. In Rom. xiii. 13, 14. St. Paul advises us how we should behave ourselves in this point; _Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness;—but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil it in the lusts thereof._ Put on the spirit of the gospel, and the ornaments of christianity, and then you cannot for shame seek the pleasures of the brute, nor sink down into the base impurities of the animal nature: If you have put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and are his disciples indeed, then look like christians; let the very life of Christ be manifest in your lives: Live above these animal desires, these lower designs of the flesh, which is not the chief nature of the man, much less should it be the chief end of christians to gratify it.

II. Let christians consider, that the original ruin of their natures, soul and body, arose from the indulgence of a foolish appetite. When our mother Eve saw the fruit of the forbidden tree, she thought it was pleasant to the eye, and good for food: She tasted it herself, and tempted Adam to the sin that ruined him and all his offspring. When therefore a temptation to this sort of guilt appears, let us think of all the miseries of our fallen state, and not dare to repeat that crime, which had such dismal consequences. It brought iniquity, pain, and death into human nature, and begun all that dishonour to God, and all that mischief among men, that ever was found in this lower world.

III. Every saint ought to have a mortal quarrel with the flesh, because he carries about the seeds of iniquity in it, and the springs of perverse appetite which ought always to be kept under, lest our very spirits become carnal, and we lose our heavenly crown. Therefore saith the apostle; 1 Cor. ix. 27. _I keep under my body, and bring it under subjection_, and endeavour to be temperate in all things, that running in the christian race, I may obtain the prize. It is the business of a christian to eat and drink in due season, for strength and refreshment, not for luxury and drunkenness, which Solomon forbids to princes; Eccl. x. 17. It was an excellent saying of that holy man, Mr. Joseph Allein; “I sit down to my table not to please my appetite, or to pamper my flesh, but to maintain a servant of Jesus Christ, that he may be fit for the Lord’s work.”

IV. The saints should be pure and holy; even in the affairs of the natural life; for they have meat to eat, that the world knows not of: they drink of the pleasures that flow from God, and from his covenant; and therefore should not be over-solicitous about pleasing their meaner appetites. Those that indulge themselves in carnal delicacies, and make enquiry for the pleasures of the flesh, as the main business of life, what shall I eat, and what shall I drink? Those that live in a round of sensuality, they debase their souls, make themselves unfit for the duties and pleasures of a christian, unfit for divine communications, for holy fellowship, heavenly meditation, and lively exercises of faith, upon unseen things; they damp their zeal for God, blunt their relish for religious delights, and are perpetually defiling their own consciences. These are they that _make their God their belly_, while they profess to be christians. But the apostle, in Phil. iii. 18, 19. tells us, “whatsoever they profess, _they are enemies of the cross of Christ_, and I cannot speak of it, says he, without weeping.”

Now if there be any such sinners amongst us, such slaves to a paltry appetite, that make it a business of too solemn and solicitous enquiry, “How we shall regale the palate, and gratify the taste:” If there are any of us that know not how to forbid ourselves a savoury or luscious dish, even though we know or expect it will discompose the flesh or the mind: If we have not temperance enough to deny the superfluous or excessive glass, when it comes to our turn, nor virtue nor courage enough to refuse it, let us take our share in the reproofs of this discourse; and let us remember that we have had fair warning this day from the word of God, that we may not drown our souls in sensual indulgences, and make ourselves unfit for the duties of life, or for the business or the joy of heaven.

HYMN FOR SERMON XXVI.
_Christian Morality_, _viz._ _Temperance_.

Is it a man’s divinest good,
To make his soul a slave to food?
Vile as the beast, whose spirit dies,
And has no hope above the skies?

Can meats or choicest wines procure
Delights that ever shall endure,
Was not I born above the swine,
And shall I make their pleasures mine?

Am I not made for nobler things?
Made to ascend on angel’s wings?
Shall my best powers be thus debas’d
And part with heaven to please my taste?

Can I forget the fatal deed,
How Eve brought death on all her seed,
She tasted the forbidden tree,
Anger’d her God, and ruin’d me.

Was life designed alone to eat?
What is the mouth, or what the meat?
Both from the ground derive their birth,
And both shall mix with common earth.

Great God new-mould my sensual mind
And let my joys be more refin’d;
Raise me to dwell among the blest,
And fit me for thy heavenly feast.

Footnote 30:

Bishop Patrick.

SERMON XXVII.
_Christian Morality_, _viz._ _Chastity_, &c.
PHILIP. iv. 8.—Whatsoever things are pure, &c.—think on these things.
Οσα αγνα, &c.

Purity of heart and life, in the perfect beauty of it, belongs to no man since our original apostacy. That foul and shameful departure from God, has rendered us all unholy and unclean. But we are recalled to seek our ancient glory, by the messengers of heaven, and the ministry of the gospel. The apostle exhorts us to it in the text. If the word pure be taken in its largest extent, it may include in it temperance in meats and drinks, as well as chastity in behaviour. You have heard already a discourse of temperance, with so hateful an account of the crimes of gluttony and drunkenness, that I hope my hearers have conceived a sacred aversion of such sensualities.

Let us now proceed to the second sense implied in the word, and that is, modesty and chastity of speech and behaviour. This is a most eminent, and most undeniable part of that purity, which St. Paul here requires; and this, in many of his epistles he insists upon as necessary, in order to make up the character of a christian, and render it honourable; and St. Peter recommends it to the pious women in his day, as a means of the conversion of their husbands, who were gentiles: _That they who obeyed not the word of the gospel, might be won to a_ good esteem of christianity, _while they beheld the chaste conversation of their wives_; 1 Pet. iii. 1, 2.

This virtue stands in opposition to those several vices, which are distinguished by different names in scripture, such as adultery, fornication, lasciviousness. 1. Adultery, when one of the persons who are guilty of impure embraces, is under the sacred bonds of marriage. By the commission of this sin there is injury done to another family, and thus it is not only an offence against the laws of purity, but a violation of the laws of justice. 2. Fornication, when both the guilty persons are free and unmarried. It has been sufficiently proved by many writers, that this is utterly unlawful, however some have attempted to varnish the guilt, and excuse the crime. 3. Lasciviousness, which consists in giving a loose to those impure thoughts, words, and actions, which have an apparent tendency toward the sins before-mentioned. Besides these, there are other names and instances of unclean abominations, which I wish could be utterly rooted out from human nature, by burying them in everlasting silence.

If I were to fetch arguments from reason and the light of nature, I might make it appear that these things are criminal and contrary to those rules of morality, which were written in the heart of man. And perhaps they would have appeared in the same guilty colours to all men, if the light of nature were not obscured by corrupt passions, and licentious appetite. The practice of these impure vices is inconsistent with the great ends for which God has formed our natures, has raised us above the beasts that perish, and has inclined mankind to form themselves into societies for mutual benefit. The brutes, who have no nature superior to the animal are not governed by the same laws. But the God of nature, who has made us compound beings and (shall I say?) hath joined an animal and an angel together to make up a man, expects that the angel should govern the animal in all its natural propensities and confine it within the rules of religion and the social life.

These vices are also contrary to the solemn ordinances of marriage which the blessed God instituted in paradise in a state of innocency, and designed to continue through all generations. If these impurities of conversation were publicly permitted, all the tender and most engaging names of relation and kindred, such as father, sister, and brother, would be confounded, and almost abolished among mankind; and what dismal consequences would hence ensue? In what helpless circumstances would children be then brought into this world? And many of the ends of human society would become frustrate and vain.

I confess indeed, that several of these vices were practised in the heathen world without any inward remorse of the mind, without private reproof or public shame. Some of these impurities were allowed by the laws of their country; some were indulged at festivals, and sometimes they were mingled with their religious ceremonies, and made part of the worship of their gods; Idol gods! Abominable religions! Base and shameful worshippers! _For it is a shame_, saith the apostle, _even to speak of those things that are done in secret; those unfruitful works of darkness_: Eph. v. 11, 12. Yet there have been several of the grave, the sober, and the wisest among the Gentiles, who being constrained by the mere force of reason, have spoke against these corrupt practises, and have adorned the virtue of chastity with many honourable encomiums.

But how doubtful soever this duty hath been reckoned among the heathen nations, yet it is made necessary by the principles of the christian religion, and a strong and severe guard of prohibitions and threatenings is set all around to secure the practice of it. Now that I may speak of this subject as becomes me, and recommend it in language pure and undefiled, I shall set before you some of these scriptures, that bear witness against all the violations of it, under the following heads:

I. The express precepts of the law of God demand the first place in this catalogue of divine testimonies against impurity, for they were delivered at Mount Sinai to many hundred thousands at once, they were ushered in with lightning, and pronounced with thunder. Ex. xx. 14. _Thou shalt not commit adultery._ This is the seventh command: And that there may not be the least tendency toward this sin, the tenth command is set as a preservative and defence, _thou shalt not_ so much as _covet thy neighbour’s wife_, verse 17. In this epitome and sum of the laws of God, whereby he rules his creatures, which is called the decalogue or ten commandments, you find this vice of impurity is twice forbidden; once in the perfect act, and again in the criminal wish and intention. Observe here, that though the words of these commands directly point to adultery, yet it appears by the very reason of things, as well as from other passages of scripture, that all unchaste thoughts, words, and actions, are here forbidden, as our younger years have been taught in the catechism.

Nor is this a law that belonged only to the Jews, for the New Testament mentions and enjoins this command with the rest, which are of equal force under the gospel. The law forbids all manner of lust, and saith; _Thou shalt not covet_; Rom. vii. 7. The great apostle puts the Thessalonians in mind of what he had taught them as the law of Christ. 1 Thess. iv. 2, 3, 4, 5. _For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God._ It is as much as if he had said, it is a dishonour to christianity, and a step of return to heathenism, to give a loose to impure lusts. He repeats the same thing; Eph. iv. 17-21. “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their minds, having the understanding darkened, and being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them; because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling, have given themselves over to lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ;” “if so be ye have been led by him, and taught the truth as it is in Jesus.” In vain ye profess to have learned the truth as it is in Jesus, or to have put on Christ, while you practise the same abominations as ye did before, while ye walk and live as the heathen world.

II. The hateful description of these sins which is given us by the holy writers, should print the same odious image of them upon our minds, and for ever forbid the practice. Solomon, a great king, and a man of excellent wisdom, had well known the mischief and madness of this sort of vice; he gives his son the most solemn charge against it in various parts of the book of Proverbs, more especially in the vi. and vii. chapters, which he spends entirely upon this theme, and in the ii. and vi. and the ix. chapters, where he applies near half of them to the same design; wherein after he has shewn the insinuating flatteries of the wanton woman he never fails to give notice of the terrible attendants of those that follow her. _For her house inclines to death, and her paths unto the dead; none that go to her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life._ There is scarce any iniquity that does so effectually harden the heart, and prevent all repentance. _Let not thine heart therefore decline to her ways; go not astray in her paths: For she has cast down many wounded, yea, many strong men have been slain by her: Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death._ This leads me to the next particular.

III. If we consider the dismal effects of these impure practices, as they are recorded in sacred history, they should keep our souls awake, and keep us always to the watch, lest we be ensnared. Behold Sampson the strongest of men, who was a holy Nazarite, and devoted to God; how was he brought down shamefully from the heights of his glory to prison and slavery, to blindness and death by the love of strange women! Behold the Jewish hero lying like a thoughtless fool upon the lap of Delilah, while the _seven sacred locks of his head were shaven_, and his divine strength _went from him, for the Lord departed_! Behold the wretched captive with his eyes bored out by the Philistines, bound with fetters of brass, and grinding in the prison-house! Behold the man who was once their terror, now become their sport, their mockery, and their laughing-stock in the house of Dagon their god: See him there crushed to pieces, and expiring under the weight of his own revenge upon his Philistine enemies; and all this for the love of a harlot! Mark the mischiefs, the calamities, and the bloodshed that pursued the house of David, when adultery and guilt in the matter of Uriah had provoked his God! See how sin and death made wide inroads into his household! See there his son Amnon slain by his brother Absalom for the folly he had wrought in Israel, and the incest with his sister Tamar? Think of Solomon the wisest of men, whose heart was enticed away by strange women from the God and religion of his fathers, when he paid such profane and criminal regard to the idols of his mistresses, as to build temples for them near the temple of Jehovah; and “the Lord was angry with Solomon, when his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and he rent the kingdom from him in the days of his son Rehoboam,” and made a long and fatal separation between the tribes of Israel for many generations. And, to name no more, turn your eyes to Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities of the plain, _giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh_; mark how the Lord _rained fire and brimstone out of heaven upon them_, and they are _set forth for an example suffering the vengeance of eternal fire_; Jude 7.

IV. Think of the dreadful threatenings that are denounced against impure sinners in the word of God, and you will find these are flaming witnesses against their practice; Hos. iv. 1-5, “The Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because of killing, stealing, and adultery: therefore shall the land mourn.” And God seems to forbid the prophets to give them reproof, as though he resolved to destroy them. _Let no man strive and reprove another._ His mercy and forgiveness seem to be put to a stand; Jer. v. 7, 9. “How shall I pardon thee for this? saith the Lord; thy children have forsaken me when I fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves in troops in the harlots’ houses. Shall I not visit them for these things, saith the Lord? and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?” When the apostle Paul had represented this sort of vice in 1 Cor. vi. 18, 19. “as a defilement of the body, which is the temple of God, and the habitation of the Holy Spirit;” he adds this word of terror; iii. 17. “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is and ought to be holy,” and not kept as a nest for unclean vermin. “Be not deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who indulge vile impurities, shall inherit the kingdom of God;” 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10. _Such were some of you_, indeed, says St. Paul to his converts, _but ye are washed and sanctified_ from these pollutions, or you could never have been saved. Therefore saith the same holy writer, “let neither fornication, nor any unclean practices be so much as once named amongst you as becometh saints;” that is, let them never be named without abhorrence. “For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor any unclean person, nor covetous man who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words; for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience;” Eph. v. 3-6. The visions of St. John in the book of the Revelation, pronounce the doom of _whoremongers_ with the rest of notorious sinners, and give them “their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death;” Rev. xxi. 8. How impiously bold are those sinners, who dare venture through all these terrors to gratify a sensual appetite! Who can rush upon the point of the avenging sword of God, and plunge themselves into everlasting burnings, to taste the deceitful baits of impure and forbidden pleasure!

Before I conclude this head, I would just hint a few directions to those who would preserve their modesty and virtue, and prevail against all temptations to impurity.

1. Set a severe watch upon your eyes and your heart. Keep all the powers of nature under a proper discipline, and guard all the avenues of the soul. Secure your senses without, and your fancy within, as much as possible, from all allurements of this kind. Let us remember that sin often begins in the imagination, and therefore we must establish a strict guard upon our roving thoughts, and reduce them when they first begin to go astray. We must lay a strong chain of restraint upon those endless wanderers; for our Saviour himself tells us, Out of the heart proceed adulteries and fornications, which defile the man; Mat. xv. 19.

We must make a self-denying covenant with our eyes, that we may not look upon temptation, lest we be led astray from the paths of purity. Our blessed Lord himself gives us a sufficient caution, when he explains the seventh commandment; Mat. v. 28. _I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart._ When our Saviour forbids a wanton look, he requires that we put a veil upon our eyes, lest like wandering stars or foolish fires they betray us into foul and miry pits of pollution, or lead us to deep and dangerous pollutions.

Avoid all impure representations, pictures, and images: Turn your eyes from immodest sights, and your ears from polluted language, whether it be in discourse, or writing, a lewd jest, or a wanton song. Let them not entertain you, though they may be attended and adorned with never so many colours of wit, and charms of music. Romances and novels, and invented stories of forbidden love, have painted over these impurities with shining eloquence, and awakened the same foolish passions in the reader. O how unhappily has the art of verse, which was first consecrated to the service of the temple, been prostituted to the vilest purposes, to give gay colours to temptation, and gild over the foulest images of iniquity! And what a multitude of souls may date the commencement of their guilt and ruin from the time when they began to frequent the poisonous entertainments of the stage! Their ears which were shocked at first with some of the coarse and foul expressions of modern comedy, by degrees are hardened to bear the most offensive language: Their modesty and blushing dies and vanishes by degrees, till at last they learn to relish the grossest pollutions of the theatre, and perhaps put the fable into practice.

As faith and salvation come by hearing, so iniquity and everlasting death come sometimes by hearing too. And what we would not hear, surely we should not speak. Let us then set a guard upon our tongues, lest they border upon forbidden language. _No filthiness, no foolish talking, no corrupt communication must proceed out of our mouths_; Eph. iv. 29. and v. 4. We should not affect those speeches of a double meaning, which lead the thoughts away to lewd and wanton conceits, and make foul impressions upon the mind. Let your ears hate to be treated with such indecencies, nor let our lips dare to treat others so.

2. Do not make too rich provisions for the feeding of the flesh; indulge not yourselves on the delicacies of the taste, nor in the luxury of excessive sleep: Both of these may incline animal nature to licentious desires: Stand afar off from gluttony and excess of wine, nor pamper the body beyond the just support, and due refreshment of nature. The holy apostle in his prohibitions, couples “chambering and wantonness with rioting and drunken practice;” Rom. xiii. 13. and calls them all works of darkness. It is a good remark of Kempis, a devout papist in former days, “Bridle the appetites of the palate, get a sovereignty over them, and you will be better able to master every other appetite.”

3. Always employ yourselves in something innocent and useful, that may engage the powers of the body, or the mind, or both, that so temptation may never find you idle. The springs of the sin of Sodom were _fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness_; therefore they grew _haughty, and committed abomination before the Lord_; Ezek. xvi. 49, 50. This is an advice of Jerome, one of the christian fathers. Be still doing some work, that the devil, when he comes to tempt, may always find thee busy. Where you are in danger of these sins, put yourselves upon a necessity of diligence all the day, that you may have no time nor room for wild imaginations nor impure indulgences.

4. Avoid the seasons, the places, and the objects of temptation, as far as it is consistent with the necessary duties of life: For he that hath no caution about him, and is not afraid of being tempted, he is not acquainted with human weakness, nor is he so much afraid of sin as he ought to be.

5. Maintain an everlasting and awful sense of the presence of God thy Maker, thy Governor, and thy Judge. Remember the Lord beholds the secret workings of the heart, and the foul practices of darkness and midnight. There is not a place where the eye of God cannot come. What an honourable character hath young Joseph acquired in the word of God, and his name stands recorded with renown in divine history through all ages, for his flight from the allurements of an immodest woman: The guard which he continually placed upon his virtue, was the all-seeing eye of heaven. “How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” Gen. xxxix. 9.

6. Get those scriptures written in your hearts, and ready at all times in your memories, which may be the most effectual antidotes and preservatives against all forbidden pleasure. This was the ancient practise of the saints. Ps. cxix. 11. “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.” The word of God is the sword of the Spirit, to put to flight, and to slay whole armies of iniquity.

7. Fly daily to the mercy-seat for divine aid: Commit thy soul and body to the keeping of Christ; he is exalted and authorized to take care of sinners, who make him their refuge: he is also compassionate and ready to succour the tempted. There is cleansing virtue in the blood of Christ to wash away the foulest guilt, and to sprinkle the conscience of the humble penitent with peace and pardon: and there is all-sufficient power and grace with him to subdue the most raging vices. Make haste to him by humble faith, and most importunate prayer: Continue instant at the throne: Never rest till he hath by his providence and his grace delivered you from the dangerous temptation, or made you conqueror over the sin that easily besets you. There are a thousand souls in heaven, who were once conflicting here with the same impure temptations, but they gained the victory by the blood and Spirit of Christ, and are made more than conquerors through him who hath loved them.

I fear I have trespassed upon my hearers, in dwelling thus long on this dangerous theme. It is time to retire, and end my discourse. Those who have a mind to be better furnished with weapons and divine armour against these enemies of purity and virtue, I would recommend to them three books, where they may find abundant provision: And these are Mr. Ostervald’s Treatise of Uncleanness, Mr. Henry’s Four Discourses against immorality, and Mr. Baxter’s Christian Directory, tome 1 chap. 8. part 5. And may the holy and pure Spirit, who attended at the baptism of our Saviour in the form of a dove, which is an emblem of chastity, may he give these waters of the sanctuary a divine efficacy to purify the souls of polluted sinners, and to guard the innocent and the tempted from these dangerous pollutions!

HYMN FOR SERMON XXVII.
_Christian Morality_, _viz._ _Chastity._

The lord, how great his majesty,
How pure are all his ways,
Sinners unclean offend his eyes,
Nor stand before his face.

Thou hast ordain’d immortal woes,
And everlasting fire,
To be the just reward of those
Who follow loose desire.

I hear, I read the dreadful doom
Of Sodom; in thy word;
And dares a feeble worm presume
Thus to provoke the Lord?

Dear Saviour, guard me by thy grace,
From thoughts and words unclean,
Nor let temptation gain success
To draw my soul to sin.

SERMON XXVIII.
_Christian Morality_, _viz._ _a Lovely Carriage_, &c.
PHILIP. iv. 8.—Whatsoever things are lovely——think on these things.
Οσα προσφιλη, &c.

Man was a lovely creature in his first formation and innocence, however he has been debased and dishonoured by the fall. Now there is nothing in all the religion of Christ but what tends to restore man to the excellencies of his original state, or to exalt him above them, and to render him all over amiable. To this end truth and sincerity are recommended to him in the gospel, with a venerable decency in all his conduct. To this end he is required to practise justice to his neighbour, and to keep himself pure and chaste from all the vices of sensuality. Thus far we have proceeded in improving the text. And the man who has attained thus far, has many lovely qualities belonging to him, such as lay a foundation for a good report, and deserve our praises.

Yet there are many things in human conversation, which do not directly fall under the commands of truth and gravity, justice and purity: These the apostle recommends to the Philippians, under the following characters, _viz._ things that are lovely, that are of good report, deeds of virtue, and worthy of praise.

The things that are lovely, are such as look well among men, and have a good appearance in the eyes of the world: Those things that gain the love of our fellow-creatures: Not merely such religious practices, as make us beloved by fellow-christians, but such a temper and conduct as commands the esteem and respect even of the ungodly, and those that profess not strict religion. This ought to be the carriage of the saints of the Most High, they should practise those things that are grateful and pleasing to human nature, so far as innocence allows: those things that may recommend our conversation to our neighbours, and procure the love of all men. Is it not a very desirable thing to have it said of any particular christian, all that know him love him; he hath no enemies but those that are unacquainted with him, unless it be such as hate him upon the same ground as the devil doth, and that is because of his piety and goodness? But to explain this more fully, and impress it with more power upon every one of our consciences, I will descend to particular instances of a lovely carriage. And here I shall mention but these few, _viz._ prudence, moderation, humility, meekness, patience, and love.

I. Prudence is a lovely quality. This teaches us to speak every word, and perform every action of life at a proper time, in the proper place, and toward the proper person. It is prudence that distinguishes our various behaviour toward our fellow-creatures, according to their different ranks and degrees among mankind, or the different relations in which we stand to them. It is a very desirable excellency to know when it is proper to speak, and when it is best to keep silence; at what seasons, and in what company we should awaken our zeal, and exert our active powers; or when we should hide ourselves, or put a bridle upon our lips, and sit still, and hear.

Prudence is of infinite use in all the affairs of life and religion: Nor is there any hour of the day, nor any place wherein we spend that hour, whether alone or in public, but gives occasion for some exercise of this virtue. It does not belong to human nature to possess this in perfection: Perfect prudence dwells with God alone, God the most lovely of beings: He that comes nearest to it, is the wisest of men, and he gains the love and high esteem of all that are near him; for his conduct in life is of singular advantage to those that converse with him, as well as to himself. This man is consulted by his friends as an earthly oracle, and by his advice he saves many from ruin. Thus he wins and wears their honour and their love.

There are many good qualities both of the natural and moral kind that must meet together, to make up a prudent man. He must be furnished with a memory of things past, and with just and proper observations made upon them, that he may know how to improve every opportunity and occurrence of life to the best purposes when the same occasions return. There is no prudence without some degrees of experience. But experience alone is not sufficient; he should have also a wide extent of soul, and be able to take a large and comprehensive survey of the concurrent circumstances of things present: And he must be blessed with a solid judgment, that by putting many things at once into the balance, he may find which outweighs the rest, and determine his present conduct thereby. He must have a degree of sagacity, to foresee future events, according to the usual consequences of things in this mortal state. The prudent man foresees the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished; Prov. xxii. 3. that is, They suffer for their want of prudence and foresight. And besides all these, he should be a man of firm and steady resolution to go through difficulties, and to put in practice what his judgment has determined.

Rash and ungoverned passions are great enemies of this virtue. Both these push a man onward to a hasty and irregular conduct. His lips multiply folly, and his hands practise it through the impatience of his spirit. His unguarded talk, and precipitant actions plunge himself into snares, and sometimes involve his acquaintance in the same mischief.

There are other characters also inconsistent with prudence, such as an unthinking and an unsteady temper. The thoughtless person lives at a venture, walks always at random, and seems to aim at nothing. He enjoys the present hour indeed, talking and acting according to the mere appearances of things. He is content with a slight sudden view of any thing without recollection or forethought; and in a most literal sense takes no thought for the morrow. The fickle and inconstant man, he may aim at something indeed, and have honest designs in his head, but is ever changing the means to attain them, and pursues nothing with that steadiness that prudence requires, or that the necessity of human affairs demands of every man that would be wise and happy. Such men may be pitied as weak and silly, but they are seldom esteemed, or much beloved in the world, while prudence is so much wanting.

There is no necessity that I should cite special parts of the word of God, to encourage us to seek this most amiable quality, since the recommendations of true wisdom, both human and divine, are scattered up and down through all the sacred writings: And the Spirit of God has given us one or two books on purpose to teach us prudence; these are Ecclesiastes and the Proverbs of Solomon. Nor can I propose any better direction to gain universal wisdom, that to read the book of Proverbs often with diligence and humble prayer.

II. Moderation is another lovely quality. It teaches us to maintain a medium between those wild extremes, into which human nature is ready to run upon every occasion.

When a warm and imprudent talker adorns some common character with excessive praises, and carries it up to the stars; the moderate man puts in a cautious word, and thinks it is sufficient to raise it half so high. Or when he hears a vast and unreasonable load of accusation and infamy thrown upon some lesser mistakes in life, the moderate man puts in a soft word of excuse, lightens the burden of reproach, and relieves the good name of the sufferer from being pressed to death. When he sees oppression and violence practised among his neighbours, the justice of his soul directs him to take the part of the injured person, and his own moderation and goodness inclines him to do it in such a manner, as may calm and suppress the resentment of the oppressed, and soften and melt the oppressor into compliance with the rules of justice. Thus he reconciles them both, without giving offence to either.

When any sects of christians seem to be carried away with the furious torrent of some prevailing notions, or some unnecessary practices, some special superstition, or a contentious spirit, the moderate man tries to shew how much of truth and goodness may be found amongst each party, where all agree to hold Christ Jesus the head; though he dares not renounce a grain of truth or necessary duty, for the sake of peace, and he would contend earnestly, where providence calls him, for the essential articles of faith which were once delivered to the saints; for he knows the wisdom that is from above is first pure, and then peaceable; James iii. 17. Yet he takes this occasion to prove that some truths or some practices, are articles of less importance to the christian life; that they are not worthy of such unchristian quarrels; and thus he attempts, as far as possible, to reconcile the angry disputers. Sometimes he has the happiness to shew them both that they fight in the dark; he explains their opinions and their contests, and puts the best sense upon both of them: And when he hath brought them into the light, he makes it appear that they are friends and brethren; and that religion and the gospel are safe on both sides, if they would dwell together without fighting, but that it is sorely endangered by their battles. So St. Paul dealt with the Jewish and gentile christians, and assured them that they both belonged to the kingdom of God, and the church of Christ, though they quarrelled about flesh, and herbs, and holy-days. How lovely, how glorious, how desirable is such a character as this!

I confess when a party-spirit runs high among the different sects of religion, or the different divisions of mankind, this most amiable virtue is called by the scandalous names of indifferency, and lukewarmness, and trimming; and it sustains a world of reproaches from both the quarrelling parties. Moderation, though it is the blessed principle, which awakens and assists men to become peace-makers, yet at the same time when it enters into the battle to divide the contenders, it receives an unkind stroke from either side. This the reconciler expects, and he bears it for the sake of union and love.

The moderate man in cases of private property or interest, does not insist upon the utmost of his own right with a stiff and unyielding obstinacy, but abates of his just pretensions for the sake of peace; and what he practises himself, he persuades others to practise in the like contests. This is that moderation and gentleness, which the great apostle recommends a few verses before my text. Phil. iv. 5. _Let your moderation be known unto all men._ And our blessed Lord himself gives the moderate man this illustrious encomium, blessed are the meek, who submit rather than quarrel, for they shall inherit the earth. _Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children of God_; Mat. v. 5-9. Happy souls whom the God of truth, and the God of peace, acknowledges for his children, and to whom he promises a large inheritance!

And let it be observed also, that whatsoever hard usage the sons of peace may meet with, while the ferment of parties is hottest, and the storm is high, yet when the clamour and rage are sunk and calm, when the party-fury hath spent itself, and is grown cool enough to suffer men to bethink themselves, and to see all things in their true colours, then the man of moderation stands approved of men as well as of God; the divine virtue appears in its own lovely form, and receives a becoming share of honour.

III. Humility is a lovely virtue. It is beautiful and becoming for a man to divest himself of all affected grandeur, and not to exalt his head above his neighbour. O that we were all clothed with humility! It is an ornament that becomes sinners well. Let us put it on with our daily raiment, and strive to vie with each other which shall practise this grace in the greatest perfection.

How unlovely a carriage is it to boast ourselves of any superior quality we possess, or to assume lofty airs, because we have more money than our neighbours! To aggrandize ourselves in our own esteem, in our own language, in our behaviour, because we fancy ourselves to be better dressed, or better fed than our fellow-creatures! And if we have a little honour put upon us by the providence of God, it is a criminal vanity for us to grow haughty and insolent upon that account. I am in pain whensoever I hear a man treat his servant as he does his dog: as though a poor man were not made of the same clay, nor born of the same ancient race as his master: As though Adam, whose name is dust, was not our common father, or a lord had not the same original as other men.

Nay, the nobler possessions of the mind, ingenuity and learning, and even grace itself, are no sufficient ground for pride. It is a comely thing to see a man exalted by many divine gifts, and yet abasing himself. It is a lovely sight to behold a person well adorned with virtue and merit, and glorified in the mouths of all men, and yet concealing himself: To see a man of shining worth drawing, as it were, a curtain before himself, that the world might not see him, while the world do what they can to do him justice, and draw aside the veil to make his merit visible. Not that a man of worth is always bound to practise concealment; this would be to rob mankind of the blessing God has designed for them, and to wrap up his talents, in the unprofitable napkin. But there are occasions wherein a worthy and illustrious person may be equally useful to the world, and yet withdraw himself from public applause. This is the hour to make his humility appear.

How graceful and engaging is it in persons of title and quality to stoop to those that are of a mean degree, to converse freely at proper seasons with those that are poor and despicable in the world, to give them leave to offer their humble requests, or sometimes to debate a point of importance with them: Not all the dignity of their raiment can render them half so honourable as this condescension does; for nothing makes them so much like God. The High and Holy One, who inhabits eternity, stoops down from heaven to visit the afflicted, and to dwell with the poor. And surely, when we set ourselves before the divine Majesty, we are meaner and more contemptible in his eyes, than it is possible for any fellow-creature to be in ours; he humbles himself to behold princes.

It must be allowed indeed, that where God and the world have placed any person in a superior station, and given him a sensible advancement above his fellow-creatures, he is not bound to renounce the honours that are his due, nor to act beneath the dignity of his character and state. This would be to confound all the beautiful order of things in the natural, civil, and religious life. But there are cases and seasons that often occur, when great degrees of humility may be practised without danger of sinking one’s own character, or doing a dishonour to our station in the world. There is an art of maintaining state with an air of modesty, nor is there any need to put on haughty and scornful airs, in order to secure the honours of a tribunal, or the highest offices of magistracy. I have known a man who acted in an exalted station with so much condescension and candour, that all men agreed to love and honour him so far, that it was hard to say, whether he was most honoured, or most beloved.

How amiable a behaviour is it in younger persons, when respect is paid to age, and the honour is given to the hoary head that nature and scripture join to require; Lev. xix. 32. “Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man: and fear thy God: I am the Lord. Though the character of the aged person, in respect of riches, quality, and learning, may be much inferior, yet the wisdom that is naturally supposed to be derived from long experience, lays a foundation for this superior honour. And I look upon it as a part of the shame and just reproach of our day, that there is such a licentious insolence assumed by youth to treat their elders with contempt. But so much the more lovely is the carriage of those who, in spite of evil custom, treat old age with reverence, and abhor the pert and petulant indignities that some of their companions cast upon the writings and counsels of their ancestors.”

And here I beg leave also humbly to admonish my fathers, that they practise the lovely grace of condescension, when they converse with those that are young. I entreat them to permit a youth of an inquisitive genius, to propose an argument for some farther improvement of knowledge, or to raise an objection against an established doctrine, and not to answer him with an imperious frown, or with the reproaches of heresy or impertinence. I beseech them to indulge the rising generation in some degrees of freedom of sentiment, and to offer some demonstration for their own opinions, besides their authority, and the multitude of their years. The apostle Peter’s advice may be addressed to persons of all ages and characters; 1 Pet. v. 5. _Ye younger, submit yourselves to the elder: Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility; for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble._ If we have more knowledge than others, how lovely is our conduct, when we teach and instruct them, not like sovereigns of their faith, and dictators to their understanding, but in a way of friendly conversation, and mutual improvement? If any thing occurs to be debated, it is a sign of modesty to yield to the force of argument, and not to resolve before-hand to be infallible and obstinate, as though we were exempted from the common frailty of human nature, and free from all possibility of mistake. While we are arguing with others, in order to convince them, how graceful a thing it is, when we have the power of the argument on our own side, to keep ourselves from insult and triumph! how engaging a behaviour toward our opponent, when we seem to part as though we were equal in the debate, while it is evident to all the company, that the truth lies wholly on our side!