The Drunkards Character, Section 109 – Section 111
§ 109.
QUestion.Sathan works men by degrees to this height ofimpiety and not all at once. But how doth Sathan work men to this height of impiety?
Answer. Not at all once, but when custome of sinne hath deaded all remorse for sinne. A man at first goes into sinne, as a young swimmer into the water, not plunging himselfe over head and eares at first dash, but by degrees, till he come in profundum, and then co…temnit.
The imbellick Peasant, when he comes first to the Field, shakes at the report of a Musket; but after hee hath ranged through the fury of two or three Battels, he then can fearelesse stand a breach, and dares undaunted gaze death in the face: so the first acts of sinne, are for the most part trembling, fearefull, and full of the blush; it is the iteration of evill, that gives forehead to the foule offender: it's easie to know a beginning swearer, he cannot mouth it, like the practised man; he oathes it, as a cowardly Fencer playes, who as soone as he hath offered a blow, shrinks backe, as if his heart suffered a kind of violence by his tongue; yet had rather take a step in vice, then be left behind, for not being in fashion.
The first time the Fox saw the Lyon, he feared him as death; the second, he feared him, but not so much; the third time, he grew more bold, and passed by him without quakeing. There is no man suddenly very good, or extreamely evill, but growes so: as a River is small and foredable at the head, but greatens as it runnes on, by accession of new waters. Salomon first takes two wives, then three, then hundreds; and having once got beyond the stakes of the Law, and all modesty, he is ready to lose himselfe amongst a thousand bedfellowes.
As men eate divers things by morsels, and digest them with ease, which if they should eate whole, would choake them: so fares it with sinners. We deale with our consciences, as with our Apparell, when we have got on a new sute, fresh and faire, we are very chary of abusing it, we take heede where we sit, what we touch, or against what we leane; but when it is once growne a little old, soyled and sullied, we have no such regard of it, we little passe what we doe with it, nor minde where we cast it; so the uxorious husband, at the first idolizeth his wife, no noyse must disturbe her, the cold wind must not blow upon her, the Sunne must be shaded from her beauty, her feete must scarce touch the earth, nothing must offend her, she commands all, her will is a law; it may be, after a while none of all this, but the contrary: even such is our dealing with conscience; as we see in David, who at first was so tender of it, that the lap of Saul's garment onelyonly troubled him to the heart; but giveing way to his owne corruptions, and Sathans temptations, to what a height of sinne was he risen? at first he onelyonly loosed the raynes to idlenesse; from idlenesse, he proceedes to lust; from lust, to drunkennesse; from drunkennesse, to murther, &c. Murther shall be imployed to hide adultery, the fact which wine cannot conceale, the sword shall; yea, what a brood of sinnes hath the Devill hatched, out of this one egge of Adultery; Vriah shall beare his owne Mittimus to Ioab, and be the messenger of his owne death; Ioab must be a traytor to his friend; the Host of God must shamefully turne their backes upon their enemies, much blood of Israel must be spilt, many a good Souldier cast away, that murther must be seconded with dissimulation, and all this, to hide one Adultery.
O how many, by this meanes, have declined from a vigorous heate of zeale, to a temper of lukewarme indifferencie; and then from a carelesse mediocrity, to all extremity of debauchednesse; and of hopefull beginnings, have ended in incarnate Devills! resembling Domitian, who (when first chosen Emperour) did so abhorre cruelty, that he would not suffer any beast to be kill'd for sacrifice; yet after by degrees, and when custome had brought an habit, he thought no cruelty too much, to put in execution against men: or Dionisyus, who so long as he was beloved, and well reported of, was a good man; but when the priuy talke to his defamation came to his eares, he fell by degrees to exercise all manner of cruelty: or Nero, who at first being required to signe (as the manner was) the sentence of a criminall offendors condemnation, earnestly wished of God, that he …ould not write, rather then be forced to doome a man to death; and yet after, became the most lively Image of cruelty that we reade of.
Vice is a Pere patetike, alwayes in progression; yea, both grace, and sinne, are of a growing nature: for as it is in wealth, he that hath much, would have more: so in vertue, and vice; but evill men especially, and deceivers wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived, 2 Tim. 3. 13. they goe first over Shoes, then over Bootes, then over shoulders at length over head and eares in sinne, as some doe in debt.
§ 110.
O The dangerous and insensible insinuations of sinne! Cu…t…me of sin takes away the …ense of sinif that crafty tempter can hereby worke us but to one dram of lesse detestation to a familiarity in evil, he promiseth himselfe the victory.
Custome brings sinne to be so familiar, that the horror of it is turned into delight; and as men doe at first lesse like sinne, so with continuance they doe lesse feele it: frequency in sinne, takes away the sense of sinne; as a man may looke so long upon the Sunne, that he shall become blind, and then he is not sensible of any light it hath; or heare a great noyse so long (as they which live neare the fall of the River Nilus) that it may make him starke deafe: for even so it fares with the notoriously wicked, who being familiarly accustomed to all manner of lewdnesse, can commit foule sinnes with lesse touch of conscience, then others can heare of them: as you shall have Blacke-smiths that are used to the frequent and dayly handling of hot Iron, hold a scorching fire brand in their hands, and laugh whilst another would rore out; Estrich-like, they can concost Iron, and put it off, as easily as another weake stomacke can doe jelly. Oh hovv the soule, that takes a delight in levvdnesse, is gained upon by custome!
Neither vvill any meanes restraine such a Sampson, for let him be bound vvith greene vvithes (the shame of men) they vvill not hold him; with new Ropes, (the feare of authority) they will not hold him; vvith the pinne and vvoofe (of Lavv and Gospell) none of these vvill hold him.
Indeed, for a time shame it selfe may hold them in, though sinne holds them under; but shortly after they have brazen faces, so bloodlesse, that they cannot blush; and then farewell all good.
There is some feare to offend, some knowledge of good and evill, some remorse, some conscience, while shame lasts: but if shame once depart, knowledge goes, and feare goes, and remorse goes, and conscience goes, none will tarry behind shame; at least, where the feare of God (which is the bridle and curbe to sinne) is absent, all vices will there be present and abound; and when they are once crusted over with perseverance, no hope of returning: like as the Tortise (delighting in the Sunne) swimmeth on the top of the water so long, untill the heate hardeneth her shell, that she cannot sinck, and then she is taken. Wherefore let not this point part with us, till it hath taught us two things, to wit, to make conscience of small sinnes; not to reiterate, or allow our selves in the practice of any knowne sinne.
§ 111.
ANd so you have the maine ground, foundation,Againe, God hath proclaimed an enmity betweene the wicked and the godly, for so long as the world endures. roote, or spring of their opposition; which yet is not all, for, admit their natures were not contrary, this alone were omni-sufficient, God, from the beginning, hath proclaimed an enmity between the seede of the Serpent, and the seede of the woman, which is irreconcileable and endlesse: for as it hath beene from the beginning of time; so it shall last to the end of all time: when time, saith one, began, this malice first began; nor will it end, but with the latest man. It is an everlasting act of Parliament, like a Statute in Magna Charta, Gen. 3. 15. where even in Paradise, Iehova, the eternall God, and Lord of Hosts, saith unto Sathan, I will put enmity betweene thee, and the woman; and betweene thy seede, and her seede; hee, or it shall bruise thine head, and thou shalt bruise his heele; whereby Sathans seede, is meant the wicked of all ages; and by enmity, bitter, immoderate, inveiterate, irreconcileable, and endlesse hatred, and division, opposite to that amity and familiarity, which formerly had beene betweene the Woman and the Serpent; as Expositors universally conclude.
So that there was a twofold kingdome set up in this world (both spirituall) a kingdome of sinne and darkenesse,Sathan is their King and they must seeke his wealth … honour all they can and strive to enlarge his kingdome by winning all they can from Christ by a continuall w…rre and skirmish. and a kingdome of light and holinesse; the King and cheife commander of the one, being Sathan, the Prince of darkenesse, the god of this world, and chiefe of evill Spirits; his subjects, all unregenerate men: and the King of the other, being Christ, called in Scripture, the wonderfull Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, and Prince of peace, the Lords of Lords, and King of Kings, Isay, 9. 6. Rev. 17. 14. who is also the chiefe of men, even the chiefe Sonne of man; his subjects, the godly and regenerate alone: betweene which Kings, and their Regiments, God himselfe having proclaimed a perpetuall warre, saying, I will put enmity betweene the one, and the other, how can we expect lesse? for with God, neither doth his word disagree from his intention, because he is truth it selfe; nor his deede from his word, because he is power it selfe; God is not as man, that hee should lye, neither as the Sonne of man, that hee should repent: hath he said, I will put enmity betweene the men of the world, and his owne people, and shall he not doe it? or, hath he spoken the word, and shall not he accomplish it? Numb. 23. 19. Heaven and Earth shall passe away, but one jot, or tittle of his word shall not passe, till all be fullfilled, Math. 5. 18. So that to be without temptations, reproaches, and persecutions, we may rather wish, then hope: for what peace can wee looke for, betweene the seede of the Serpent, and the seede of the woman, since God himselfe, from the beginning, hath set them at enmity? yea, once to expect it, were an effect of frenzie, not of hope.