Sin Stigmatized, Part 1 · Section 9 – Section 12
§ 9.
4 OR (that I may paſſe to the fourth particular formerly propounded) that lunatick man, They ſubvert reaſon and prove cruell to themſelves.mentioned, Math. 17.15.16. whom all the Diſciples could not cure, untill the Maſter himſelfe came; and to that mad man they are very like. For as hee being fore vexed, fell oftentimes into the fire, and oftentimes into the water: ſo theſe being robbed of their ſtrength and ſenſes by drinke, are frequently ſubject to all fearefull accidents, and miſerable miſhaps, which often fall out by reaſon thereof. As ſome being drunke, fall into the fire, and are burned; as I could inſtance in a Gentleman of worth, that riſing to make water, could finde no fitter place to doe it in, then the chimney; where, being a few live embers, hee fell downe, and not being able to riſe againe, had his belly puckerd together like a ſachell, before the Chamberlaine could come to helpe him; whereupon, being in great torture, hee dranke off twenty two double jugs of beare, and ſo dyed, roaring and crying that he was damned, for breaking his vow which he had made of reformation: ſome againe fall into the water, and are drowned, as is commonly ſeene: againe, ſome fall and batter their faces, bruiſe their bodies, breake their armes, their legs, and many breake their necks, in the very act of drunkenneſſe, whoſe caſes are deſperate: others are wounded, beaten, and many times murthered, as often times they ſtab and murther others: but this is notably deſcribed by Salomon, Proverbs, 23.29. to 36.
Indeed drunkenneſſe is nothing elſe, nor hath ever beene reputed amongſt the wiſe and learned, then a voluntary madneſſe, a temporary forfeiture of the wits, worſe then frenzie, in that the one is violent, the other voluntary; that, the evill of puniſhment; but this, the evill of ſinne.
The wine, which of it ſelfe is a good creature of God, and, being moderately taken, of excellent uſe; becomes to them which uſe it to ſurfeit, as the water of the river Gallus in Phrygia, which maketh all thoſe mad that drinke of it: other vices doe but alter and diſtract the underſtanding, whereas this utterly ſubverteth the ſame, and aſtonieth the body: even wrath makes a man a beaſt, but drunkenneſſe makes a man mad, and if ſo, how odious is this ſinne! For if it be a hatefull thing for a man to wound his owne fleſh, and willfully to maime the members of his body; how abominable is it to wound the mind it ſelfe, and to offer violence unto our reaſon and underſtanding! If it be a crime to offer violence againſt the ſubjects; then ſurely to lay violent hands upon the King himſelfe, and to pull him out of his Regall throne, muſt needs bee condemned as an outragious wickedneſſe.
Or laſtly, ſuppoſe them men, they are but like that man ſpoken of, Marke: 5.2. to 6. who being poſſeſt of the Divell, lived amongſt the graves, and cut himſelfe with ſtones; for they love none but baſe company, baſe places, and baſe courſes; and what other doe their frequent and horrible oathes, but cut them deeper then thoſe ſtones did him? It's true, hee may ſeeme to be in a better condition: as firſt, he may have a name to live, but indeed he is dead, as S. Iohn ſpeakes. Secondly, he may have the appearance of a man, but indeed he is a beaſt, as Ieremy ſpeakes. Thirdly, he may be thought a ſound man, but indeed he is Demoniacall, obſeſſed, or rather, poſſeſſed with a Devill, yea, many Devills, and more miſerable then ſuch an one, becauſe it is a Devill of his owne choſing, as Baſil ſpeakes. And certainely, if every raygning ſin be a Devill, as S. Auſtin holds; much more, if the heart of a Reprobate containes ſo many Devills, as unchaſt thoughts, as St. Gregory affirmes; every true Drunkard is poſſeſt with more Devills then Mary Magdalen was, and good reaſon; for, as our Saviour intimates, the Devill can find no ſuch reſt in dry places, Math. 12.43.
Indeed this may ſeeme, to ſome ignoramuſſes, a big word: but let mee tell you, the corporall poſſeſſion of evill Spirits is not ſo rare, as the ſpirituall is rife, no naturall man is free; one hath the ſpirit of error, 1 Tim. 4.1. another the ſpirit of fornication, Oſe. 4.12. another the ſpirit of blaſphemy, Revel. 2.9. and 13.1.5.6. another the ſpirit of falſehood, Math. 24.11. another the ſpirit of feare, 2 Tim. 1.7. another the ſpirit of ſlumber, Rom. 11.8. another the ſpiof giddineſſe, Eſay, 29.9. to 15. another the ſpirit of pride, all have the ſpirit of the world, 1 Cor. 2.12.
Yea, let me aſſure you from Gods word, that all yee who are not changed in the image of your minds, Eph. 4.23.24 Rom. 12 2. who have not yet felt the power of godlineſſe, 2 Tim. 3.5. are as truly, though ſpiritually, carryed by evill ſpirits into the deeps of your knowne wickedneſſe, as ever the Gadarean hogs were carried by them downe the precipice into the Sea.
Alas! the Devill hath more then one way to poſſeſſe men: hee keepes poſſeſſion in ſome by his Tenants, as by drunkenneſſe, ſwearing, whoredome, &c. in others actually and immediately by himſelfe; yet hee rather choſeth to poſſeſſe men by theſe his tenants, then by himſelfe, that ſo hee may not carry them againſt their wills as hee did that man in the Goſpell, into the fire and water, ſo uſing violence to their bodies (all thoſe forced and violent motions which they performe, who are really poſſeſt, being the Devills owne ſins) but rather deſireth to carry them willingly, and drive them, as free horſes, that neede only the ſhaking of the hand, to the Taverne, to the ſtewes, to this or that evill company; and therefore hee deſired not to poſſeſſe Iobs body, becauſe his intent was to draw Iob himſelfe to blaſpheme God.
So that wicked men, although their bodies are free uſually from this poſſeſſive power of Sathan, yet Sathan hath a farre greater power in the voluntary motions of their bodies and ſoules, even ſuch a power, as that they ſhall be agents in what they doe, and as guilty of the ſinne as himſelfe, when he makes them abuſe their eyes to wantonneſſe, their mouthes to filthineſſe, and makes their feete ſwift to ſhed blood: ſo that as Paul being guided by the good ſpirit of God, could ſay, I live not, but Chriſt lives in me, Gal. 2.20. ſo may they, we live not, but the Devill lives in us, for he is their god, 2 Cor. 4.4. and their Prince, Iohn, 14.30. and workes in them his pleaſure, Eph. 2.2. 2 Tim. 2.26.
Now this poſſeſſion of ſoule and body together, is the more fearefull, and yet the more ordinary, neither doe men marvell or wonder thereat, becauſe it is not diſcerned.
§ 10.
5 BUt fiftly, that Drunkards are poſſeſt with as many Devills as raigning ſinnes, is not all; their condition being yet worſe, for in effect they are turned Devills.
In the former place you ſaw men transformed into beaſts; prye more narrowly into them, They tranſforme themſelves into the condition of evill Angells.and you ſhall ſee thoſe beaſts transformed againe into Devills, in the delight they take in ſinne, in their miſchievous tempting others to ſinne: for ſurely if want of reaſon makes a beaſt, abuſe of reaſon this way makes a Devill; and admit man hath ſome advantage above beaſts, it is a miſerable advantage that onelyonly makes us apt to evill, yea, the worſt of evills, and capable of an hell: ſmall cauſe have we to brag of thoſe powers which ſo diſtinguiſh us from beaſts, that they make us worſe then the worſt of beaſts.
But of their acting the Devills part, and their ſeverall ſlights in ſeducing and enforcing others to ſinne, in drawing others to perdition: expect more, Section the 75. &c. OnelyOnly this for the preſent let the Drunkard know, that except he doe repent and amend, there is not the moſt lothſome and deſpicable creature that crawles upon the earth, which he ſhall not once enuy, and wiſh to have beene, rather then what he is; which ſhould have been my next theame: but of this when I come to the puniſhment of Drunkards, Swearers, and Seducers, Section. 30. to 34. and 44. and 119. to 143.
And ſo much of the perſon in generall, and a part: now take a generall view of the ſinne, before I come to particulars, and ſee how the Learned in all ages, both Chriſtians and Heathens, have cenſured this vice, and judged of this ſinne, though indeed the odiouſneſſe of it is beyond all expreſſion: neither have I dehortation anſwerable to my deteſtation of it, onelyonly what cannot be ſpoken (your meditation ſupplying the defect of my ſpeech) may be implyed as under a curtaine; which was the Painters ſhift in deliniating the picture of Venus, and the wont of Timanthes; who, in each picture hee drew, occaſioned more to be underſtood, then was painted.
§ 11.
THe Learned of all ages have concluded; What the learned ſay of this ſin.yea, drunkenneſſe it ſelfe (if it could ſpeake, as it can take away ſpeech) would confeſſe, that it is a flattering Devill, a ſweet poyſon, a voluntary madneſſe, an invited enemy, the author of outrages, quarrells, debates, murthers, the nurſe of fury, the miſtris of pride, the fountaine of all vice, the originall of all diſeaſes, and bane of the ſoule: that it is a fire; whoſe flame, is luſt; whoſe ſparkes, are oathes, and evill words; whoſe ſmoake, is pride, and infamy; whoſe aſhes, are diſeaſes and poverty; and whoſe end, is hell.
That it is a ſinne which cracks mens credits, conſumes their eſtates, diſtempers their conſtitutions, dulls their ſpirits, infatuates their ſenſes, intoxicateth their braines, ſtupefies and beſots their underſtandings, perverteth their wills, troubleth reaſon, overthroweth the judgment, infeebleth the memory, corrupteth all the affections, excludeth counſell, and without Gods infinite mercy, and their ſound repentance, damnes the ſoule.
That it is a bewitching ſweete in the mouth, which turnes to deadly poyſon in the heart, the revealer of ſecrets, the ſhipwrack of chaſtity, the ſhame of honeſty, the ruine of good manners, the thiefe of time, the diſgrace of mankind; a ſinne which makes man an abomination to the Lord, odious to the Angells, ſcorned of men, abandoned of all good ſociety, and above all, makes men ſubjects and vaſſalls to Sathan: a ſinne of all others the moſt ſpreading, moſt infectious, moſt incurable, moſt inexcuſable, a ſinne which makes no difference of times, places, perſons, &c.
A ſinne which is againſt the lawes of God, of grace, of nature, and of all nations, againſt ſenſe and reaſon; a ſinne, which brings wrath and judgment upon the whole land; a ſinne, which is a griefe to friends, a ruine to families, which ſeparates from the ſociety and company of Gods Saints on earth, excludes and ſhuts them out of the Kingdome of Heaven, as Plutarch, Solon, Pittacus. Boetius, St. Auſtin, St. Ierom, St. Chryſoſtome, and others ſtile and define it.
That it is of ſinnes, the queene; as the goute is of diſeaſes, even the moſt prodigall, waſtfull, unthrifty, unprofitable, unnaturall, unſeemely, inſatiable, unreaſonable ſinne; the moſt baſe, brutiſh, beaſtly, foule, filthy, odious, execrable, deteſtable, horrible, abominable ſtate, diſturbing, heatheniſh, infernall, prodigious, damnable, graceleſſe, and ſhamefull ſinne of all others, as ſome of our Moderne writers render it.
In fine, it is a ſinne odious and lothſome in any; but in us, who have ſo much light, ſo many lawes of God and man againſt it, moſt unſufferable: but as it was once obſerved, that Philoſophy was taught in Athens, but practiſed in Sparta: ſo now temperance and ſobriety is taught in England, but practiſed in Spaine and Turky.
§ 12.
ANd as it is a moſt grievous and matchleſſe ſinne in it ſelfe; Drunkenneſſe both a matchleſſe ſin in it ſelfe, and the cauſe of all other ſineſo it is the cauſe of all other ſinnes, a monſter with many heads, the roote of all evill, the incendiary of all vice, the Magazine of all miſery, the mother and metropolis of all miſchiefe. As tell mee, was there ever any ſinne committed which wine hath not beene an occaſion of? for notwithſtanding wine doth firſt ſerve and obey the drinker, yet by little and little mixing it ſelfe with the blood in the veynes, it doth rule over him, and, like Saules evill and controlling ſpirit, makes him it's vaſſall, whereby, like the Centurions ſervant, he no ſooner heares the word from Sathan, doe this, but inſtantly hee doth it, whether it be to the committing of adultery, with Holofernes; inceſt, with Lot; murther, with Alexander, Cambyſes, and Philopater: one of which, in his drinke, ſlew his deare and faithfull friend Clytus, who was his chiefe Captaine in all his exployts (though it ſo troubled him being ſober, that he would have made away himſelfe) the ſecond, his onelyonly Sonne; the third, his deare father and mother: or treaſon, with him that confeſt to King Pyrrhus upon his arraignment, all this wee did and ſpake againſt thee, and much more ſhould have done, had not the wine failed us: or blaſphemy, with Belſhazzar and his Princes, Dan. 5.23. and what not? for even to rehearſe the ſeverall examples which hiſtory affords, and experience hath made knowne, were endleſſe. Some examples I have given you, and he is a very young man and unobſervant, that cannot adde forty out of his owne experience.
And doe not our reverend Judges, in their ſeverall circuits finde by experience, that few brawles, murthers, manſlaughters, rapes &c. are committed, which ariſe not from this roote of drunkenneſſe. And indeed as in Juſtice, all vertues are couched together ſummarily, as Ariſtottle affirmes: ſo in drunkenneſſe, all vices are lapt up together as it were in a bundle, for it is a confluence or collection of all the reſt: and as he ſaid of old, prove a man to be ingratefull, and you prove him naught all over; ſo prove one to bee a Drunkard, and you prove him guilty of every thing that is evill, reprobate to all that is good: for what ſinne is it which a drunken man will ſticke to commit, when wee reade that Cyrillus his Sonne being drunke, ſlew his Father, and his Mother great with child, hurt his two Siſters, and defloured one of them, as St. Auſtin affirmes: when another being tempted by the Devill (as Philip Lonicer witneſſeth) to commit ſome crime or other, putting him to his choice either of Drunkenneſſe, Adultery, or Murther; he choſing the firſt, in his drunkenneſſe he abuſed the wife of him in whoſe houſe he was, and her husband comming in the whilſt, he ſlew him; and ſo in choſing that one, he committed all three: which being rightly conſidered, me thinkes a man had neede to be drunke before hand, that ſhall admit of more wine then enough; that ſhall for one houres mad mirth, hazard a whole age of griefe and ſhame, together with his diſpleaſure, that is able to deſtroy both body and ſoule in Hell.