The Drunkards Character, Section 140 – Section 141
§ 140.
TEnthly,10 Their si… is not against the …fe of body or estate, but agai…st she soules of men. thy sinne is incomparably greater, and consequently, thy punishment shall be, in that the hurt which thou doest to thy neighbour, is against his soule. For as the hurting and endamaging of the person and life of another, is a more hainous offence, then is the diminishing of his goods, and outward estate: so the hurt which redowndeth, by our meanes, unto the soule of any, is much more abominable every way, both in it selfe, and in the sight of God, then is that wrong, which is offered unto his body.
Now thou art a soule murtherer, yea, many are the soules which thou hast (intentionally, and as much as in thee lyeth) slaine with death eternall: and what canst thou expect (without repentance, and an answerable endeavour to win soules as fast to God, as formerly thou hast to Sathan) but to bee many fathoms deeper in Hell, then other men… will God powre out his curse and vengeance on them, which make the blind stumble, to the hurt of his body, Deut. 27. 18. and will he not much more, do this to soule-destroyers…
Objection. But thou,A…objection answered, like those Disciples, Iohn 6. 60. wilt think this a hard saying; neither canst thou believe, that thou art a soule murtherer, though I have made it undeniable, in Section the 100. 101. 113. 134. 115. 116. 117.
Answer. But it will one day be a harder saying, if you take not heed, when Christ shall answer all your apologies, with depart from me into everlasting fire, prepared for the Divel and his Angels, Mat. 25. 41. Luk. 13. 25. to 29. As for further proofe of what I lay to thy charge, I could easily shew thee, how The daily scoffes reproaches &c of thee and thy fellowes. 1. Detaines many From entering into a religious course. 2. Staggers many Which have made some progresse in the way. 3. Keepes many From doing the good which they would, or appearing the same which they are. 4. Beates many Clean off from their profession. 5. Hardens many And makes them resolve against goodnesse. For there is no such rub in the way to Heaven, as this; Sathan hath not such a tryed shaft in all his quiver; which makes our Saviour pronounce that man blessed, that is not offended in him, Matth. 11. 6. But of these severalls elsewhere, least I should overmuch seeme to digresse: only I grieve to see how they wrong themselves, in thus wronging others: for in that wicked men doe so mock and deride such as are in love with heavenly things, it is hard to say, whether they doe most offend, in hindering the honour of God thereby, or their neighbours wellfare, or their own salvation. What are the waters of thine own sinns so low, that thou must have streames from every place, to run into thine Ocean… thy owne bu…then is unsupportable, yet thou wilt adde to the weight other mens, that thy rising may be irrecoverable. Content thy selfe, for assuredly, thou shalt once pay deare for it, either by teares, or torment.
Yea, let such take heed, for the fire of Hell will be hot enough for a mans owne iniquities; he needs not the iniquities of others, like fuell and Bellowes to blow, and increase the flame: which if they well considered, would make them cherish all good desires in the weake, and to deale in this case, as we use when we carry a smal Light in the winde, hide it with our lap, or hand, that it may not go out. Oh how much easier is it to subvert, or cast down a thing, then to erect it, when even a base fellow could destroy that Temple in one day, which was six and thirty yeares in seting up.
True it is,None …ut counterseits wil be beaten from Christs standard by their scoffes and reproac…es. if the barking of these Currs shall hinder us from walking on our way, it is a signe we are very impotent; yea, if our love be so cold to Christ, that we are ashamed for his sake to beare a few scoffs and reproaches from the world, it is evident we are but counterfeits: for, for our comforts, it shall not bee so with those whom God hath any interest in, notwithstanding all the scoffes of Atheists and carelesse worldlings, they shall not onelyonly loose their labours herein, but themselves too. The faithfull will neither buy peace with dishonour, nor take it up at interest of danger to ensue: wel may they serve as Snuffers, to qualifie our zeale, andmake it burne brighter, but never become such Extinguishers, as to put it quite out, either by persecutions, or by perswasions. So that their spitefull adversaries imagine but a vaine thing, they shall be no more able to hinder any one from salvation, whom God hath chosen to his Kingdome of grace and glory, then Saul with his Courtiers, could hinder David, from attaining the promised Kingdome of Israel: they may move the godly, but not remove them; They have often times afflicted me, from my youth, may Israel now say, but they could not prevaile against me, Psal. 129. 1. 2 It is given to the great Dragon, and the Beast, in the thirteenth of the Revelation, to make warre with the Saints, as well as with the rest which dwell upon the earth; but hee shall not prevaile with any, save those, whose names are not written in the Booke of Life, vers. 8. if so, let them not spare to doe their worst; the winds may well tosse the Ship wherein Christ is, but never overturn it: if Christ have but once possest the affections, there is no dispossessing him againe: as that Cloth which is throughly dyed black, will afterwards take no other colour. The League that Heaven hath made, Hell wants power to break: who can separate the conjunctions of the Deity, Whom God did predestinate, saith Paul, them also hee called; and whom he called, them also he justified; and whom hee justified, them hee also glorified, Rom. 8. 30. They shall sooner blow up Hell with traines of Powder, then breake the chaine of this dependant truth. No power of man is able to withstand the will of God, it shall stand firmer then the Firmament: it is as possible to stop the motion of the Sun, as the course of Gods predestination. A fire in the heart overcommeth all other fires without, as wee see in the Martyres, which when the sweet doctrine of Christ had once gotten into their hearts, it could not bee got out again, by all the torments, which wit, and cruelty could devise: and the reason is, they over-looke these bug-bears, and behold Christ calling, the Spirit asisting, the Father blessing, the Angels comforting, the Word directing, and the Crown inviting.
Alasse! if their scoffes, and all they can say, could flout us out of the integrity of our hearts, when our fore Fathers feared not the flames, we were feareful cowards. Indeed, the timorous Snaile puts out her hornes to feele for danger, and puls them in againe without cause. If the sluggard heares of a Lion in the way, hee quakes; but tell it to a Sampson, or a David, they wil go out to meet him: yea, let Aggabus tel Paul of bands at Ierusalem, he answers, I am ready not only to be bound, but to dye at Ierusalem, for the name of Iesus, Act. 21. 13 The Horse neighs at the Trumpet, the Leviathan laughs at the Speare: so tell the resolved Christian of enemies, or danger, hee feares not, hee cares not; to carnall friends he sayes, I know yee not; to diswaders, get yee behind me Sathan.
But what of all this What though none of Christs owne band can be diminished. When thou dost the utmost of thy power, and, so farre as in thee lyes, flout men out of their faithes, and slay them with death eternall and when the intention, and offer of this mischiese, shall be judged, as if thou hadst done the mischiefe? God regards not so much what is performed, as what was intended; and measures what we doe, by what we meant to doe. He that shot at a Marke, and kild a man, by the Law of God, was not held a murtherer; but he that shall purpose to kill a man, though he be prevented, is as guilty of his blood, as if he had actually killed him. One man wills the knowledge of anothers wife, he never attaines it, perhaps never attempts it; yet he is an Adulterer. A man would steale, if he durst, he is a Thiefe, though he have stolne nothing. A strang thing; saith Augustine wittily, the man is still alive, and yet art thou a murtherer; the woman is still chast and untouched, and yet art thou an Adulterer. Good and evill thoughts and desires, in Gods account, are good and evill workes; and as mostly he accepts the will for the deed; so usually hee mesures the deed by the will. Men indeed looke on the outward appeareance, 1 Sam. 16. 7. and so measure the will by the worke, but God beholdeth the heart, Ier. 11. 20. and measures the worke by the will: for though our persons shall be judged according to our workes, yet our workes shall be judged according to our hearts; as was the widdowes Mite, Marke, 12. 43. the Lord accepts affecting, for effecting; willing, for working; desires, for deeds; purposes, for performances; Abraham had onelyonly an intention to offer Isaac, and yet the Holy-Ghost tells us, that Abraham did offer Isaac, and 'twas rewarded as done. Neither had David beene lesse guilty of Vriah's death, in that he wrot to Ioab, to put him in the fore-front of the battell, that he might be smitten and dye, although he had escaped the sword, then he was, it being performed, 2 Sam. 11. 15. nor Iesabel of Naboth's, in that she sent her Letters to the Elders of his City, to that purpose,Their intention of soule murther shall be rewarded, as if they …ed do…e the same actually. 1 King. 21. 10. 19. so he that murthers soules intentionally, is as guilty, as if he had done the same actually, and shall speed thereafter; for God (who pnnisheth, or rewardeth nothing but the will) will even arraigne and condemne thee for doing the same in fact.
§ 141.
TO which may be added (as another aggravation,11. Their sin doth not extend it se fe t… … this or th…t person only but to milions, yea, after ages. belonging to this circumstance) the extention of it. And herein thou dost out-strip almost all other sinners, in the heynousnesse of thy offence: for whereas other sinnes, viz. swearing, theft, murther, &c. may be compared unto a single Bullet, which kills but one at once, namely, the party offending: one of thy sinnes, viz. drunkennesse, may be compared to chaineshot, which sends men by clusters to Hell; the other, I meane, thy scandalizing the way of truth, and turning good into evill, is like that plot of the gunpowder Treason, which, if it had taken effect, would have destroyed a multitude at one blow. Yea, thereby thou dost not onelyonly thy utmost, but even sufficient without Gods great mercy, to murther and destroy all that heare of thy milicious slanders, and bitter invectives, make them ashamed of their holy profession, and flye from Christs standard, backe to the world.
Now injuries are so much the more intollerable, as they are dilated unto more: those offences which are of narrow extent, may receive an easie satisfaction: the amends are not possible, where the wrong is universall; as may be collected from the story of Queene Vashti, Esther, 1. 16. 17. 18. And thou dost not inveigh against this, or that particular person, or congregation, but against all the faithfull throughout the land: wherein thou more then resemblest a mad Dog, who spareth none, but bites at all that come neere him: for this thy ill report of the way of truth, like poyson, disperseth it selfe into every veine of the body politicke.
Now he is monstrously malicious, and deserveth grievously to be punished, that casts poyson into one cup, with an intention to poyson one alone; but he more, which throweth it into the whole vessell, whereof all the family drinkes, with a purpose to speed every one in the house; but he is desperatly and prodigiously wicked, beyond expression, who hurleth deadly poyson into the fountain, whence the whole City is served (as once the Iewes served this City) and even such, and no other is thy case, it differs not a haires breadth; only thou poysonest soules, the other bodies, and therein transcendest.
Now as this is an heinous offence, above any I can think upon; so great offences, if ever they obtaine forgivenesse, had need of answerable satisfactions: notorious offenders, may not thinke to sit downe with the taske of ordinary services; the retributions of their obedience, must bee proportionable to their crimes; as was that of Paul's, who as he had done more evill to the Saints, then all the rest of the Apostles; so he laboured more then they all, in adding to the Church such as should be saved; yea, faith God to Ananias, I will shew him how many things hee must suffer for my Names sake, Act. 9. 16.