A Christian Library, Part 3
MEMB. 3.
1. §. But as if Swearing alone would not presse thee deep enough int… hell, thou addest cursing to it, a sin of an higher nature, which non use frequently, but such as like Goliah and Shimei, are desperately wicked it being their peculiar brand in Scripture; as how doth the Holy Ghost stig…matize such an one? His mouth is full of cursing, Psal. 10.7. & Rom. 3.1. or, be loveth cursing, Psal. 109.17. and indeed, whom can you observe to lo… this sin, or to have their mouths full of cursing? but Russians and sons o… Belial, such as have shaken out of their hearts the fear of God, the shame o… men, the love of heaven, the dread of hell, not once caring what is though or spoken of them here, or what becomes of them hereafter; yea observe the… well, and you will finde, that they are mockers of all that march not unde… the pay of the Devill.
2. §. And whence do these Monsters of the earth, these hellish miscrean… these bodily and visible Devils learn this their damnable cursing and swearing ▪ Are not their tongues fired and edged from Hell? as Saint Iames hath▪ Jam. 3.6. yea, it is the very language of the damned, as you may see Rev. … 1, 21. Only they learn it here before they come thither, and are su…proficients therein, that the Devil counts them his best scholars, and se… them in his highest form, Psal. 1.1. And well they deserve it, with who… the language of hell is so familiar, that blasphemy is become their moth tongue. Besides, it is the very depth of sin, roaring and drinking is the horse-way to Hell; whoring and cheating the foot-way; but Swearing a… Cursing follows Korah, Dathan and Abiram. And certainly, if the infe… Tophet, be not for these men, it can challenge no guests. But see no… witlesse, gracelesse, and shamelesse even the best are that use to curse; … I shall man tremble to name; because I were as good knock at a deaf mans …, or a dead mans grave, as speak to them.
3. §. Thou art crossed by some one, perhaps thy wife, child, or servant, or else thy horse, the weather, the dice, bowls, or some other of the creatures displease thee; and thou fallest a cursing and blaspheming them, wishing the plague of God, or Gods vengeance to light on them, or some such hellish speech fals from thy foul mouth. And so upon every foolish trifle, or every time thou art angry, God must be at thy beck, and come down from heaven in all hast and become thy Officer to revenge thy quarrel, and serve thy malicious humour. (O monstrous impiety! O shamelesse impudenciel to be abhorred of all that hear it) not once taking notice what he commands in his Word, as, Blesse them that persecute you, blesse, I say, and curse not, Rom. 12.14. And again, Blesse them that curse you, and pray for them which hurt you, Luk. 6.28. which is the practice of all true Christians 1 Cor. 4.12.
4. §. But this is not one half of thine offence, For whom doest thou curse? Alas the Creatures that displease thee are but Instruments, thy sin is the cause, and God the author, 2 Sam. 16.11. Psal. 39.9, 10. Gen. 45.8, Ioh 1.21. from whom thou hast deserved it, and ten thousand times a greater crosse: but in stead of looking up from the stone, to the hand which threw it; or from the effect to the cause, as Gods people doe; thou like a mastiff …og, settest upon the stone or weapon that hurts thee. But in this case, Who are you angry withall? Does your horse, the dice, the rain, or any other creature displease you? Alas, they are but servants, and if their Master bid smite, they must not forbear; they may say truly what Rabshekeh usurped, Isa. 36.10. Are we come without the Lord? and all that hear thee may say, as the Prophet did to Senacherib, 2 King. 19.22. Whom hast thou blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy self? even against the Holy One of Israel.
5. §. Besides, why dost thou curse thine enemie? (if he be so) but because thou canst not be suffered to kill him. For in heart, and Gods account, thou art a murtherer, in wishing him the pox, plague, or that he were hanged or damned. Nor will it be any rare thing at the day of judgment, for cursers to be indicted of murther. For like Shimei and Goliah to David; thou wouldst kill him if thou durst; thou doest kill him so far as thou canst. I would be loath to trust his hands that bans me with his tongue. Had David been at the merciemercy of either Shimei or Goliah, and not too strong for them, he had then breathed his last.
Nor is it commonly any sin committed, or just offence given thee; that thou cursest. Who could have lesse deserved those curses and stones from Shimei then David? Yea, did not that head deserve to be tonguelesse, that body to be headlesse, that so undeservedly cursed such an Innocent? as after it fell out. For the curses and stones which Shimei threw at David, rebounted upon Shimei, and split his heart; yea, and at last knock… out his brains; and the like of Goliahs curses; which is also thy very case. For … Curser meant it, Prov. 26.2. yea, though thou cursest, yet God will blesse, Psal. 109.28. …ut thy curses shall be sure to rebound back into thine own brest, Psal. 7.14, 15, 16▪ Prov. 14.30. Cursing mouths are like ill made Pi…e… which while men discharge at others, recoil in splinters on their own faces, Their words and wishes be but whirlwinds, which being breathen forth, return again to the same place. As hear how the Holy Ghost delivers it▪ Psal. 109. As he loved cursing, so shall it come unto him; and as he loved not blessing, so shall it be far from him. As he cloathed himself with cursing like a garment so shall it come unto his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones; let it be unto him as a garment to cover him, and for a girdle wherewith he shall always be girded, v. 17, 18, 19. Hear this all ye, whose tongnes run so fast on the Devils errand, you loved cursing, you shall have it, both upon you, about you, and in you, and that everlastingly; if you persevere and go on; for Christ himself at the last day, even he which came to save the world, shall say unto all such, Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the Devill and his Angels, Mat. 25.41. Where they shall do nothing but curse for evermore; for they no farther apprehending the goodnesse, merciemercy, and bounty of God, then by the sense of their own torments (the effects of his justice) shall hate him, and hating him they shall cur…e him, Rev. 16.11. They suffer, and they blaspheme; there is in them a furious malice against him, being cursed of him, they re-curse him; they curse him for making them, curse him for condemning them, curse him because being adjudged to death, they can never find death; they curse his punishments, because they are so unsufferable; curse his mercies, because they may never taste them; curse the bloud of Christ shed on the Crosse, because it hath satisfied for millions and done their unbeleeving souls no good; curse the Angels and Saints in heaven, because they see them in joy and themselves in torment; Cursings shall be their sins, and their chief ease, Blasphemies their prayers, Lacrymae their notes, Lamentation all their harmony; these shall be their evening songs, their morning songs, their mourning songs for ever and ever. And indeed, who shall go to Hell, if Cursers should be left out? Wherefore let all those learn to blesse, that look to be heirs of the blessing.
7. §. But to be in Hell, and there continue everlastingly in a bed of quenchlesse flames, is not all. For this is the portion, even of Negative and vicelesse Christians; if they be not vertuous. Of such as do not swear exexcept they fear an oath. That abound in good duties, if they do them not out of faith, and because God commands them; that he may be glorified, and others edified thereby. Whereas thou doest supererogate of Satan, in damning many souls besides thine own. Thou hast had a double portion of sin, to other men here; and therefore must have a double portion of torment to them hereafter. The number and measure of thy torments, shall be according to the multitude and magnitude of thine offences, Rev. 20.12, 13. & 22.12. Luk. 12.47. Mat. 10.15. Rom. 2.5, 6. And those offences if I could stand to aggravate them by their severall circumstances, would appear …
With thy swearing and cursing, thou doest not only wound thine own soul worse then the Baalites wounded their own bodies: for thou (wilfully mu…therest thine own soul, and that without any inducement, as hath been proved.) But thou art so pernicious, that this is the least part of thy mischief; for thou drawest vengeance upon thousands, by thy infectious and damnable example; as how can it be otherwise? Thou doest not only infect thy companions, but almost all the hea…, or come near thee. Yea, little children in the streets, have learnt of thee to rap out oaths, and belch out curses and scoffs almost as frequently as thy self; and through thy accustomary swearing learned to speak English and Oaths together; and so to blaspheme God almost so soon as he hath made them. And not only so, but thy example infects others; and they spread it abroad to more, like a malicious man sick of the plague, that runs into the throng to disperse his infection, whose mischief but-weighs all penalty. It is like the setting a mans owne house on fire, it burnes many of his neighbours houses, and he shall answer for all the spoil. So that the infection of sin is much worse then the act.
8 §. Nor wilt thou cease to sin when thou shalt cease to live; but thy wickednesse will continue longer then thy life. For as if we sow good work…, succession shall reap them, and we shall be happy in making them so: so on the contrary, wicked men leave their evill practises to posterity, and though dead, are still tempting unto sin, and still they sin in that temptation, they sin so long as they cause sin. This was Ierob…ams case, in making Israel to sin: for let him be dead, yet so long as any worshiped his Calves, Ieroboam sinned. Neither was his sin soon forgotten; Nadab his son, and Baasha his successour; Zimri, and Omri, and Ahab, and Ahaziah, and Iehoram; all these walked in the wayes of Ieroboam which made Israel to sin; and not they alone, but millions of the people with them. So that it is easie for a mans sin to live when himself is dead; and to lead that exemplary way to Hell, which by the number of his followers, shall continually aggravate his torments. As, O what infinite torments doth Mahome… indure! when every Tu…k that perisheth by his jugling, does dayly adde to the pile of his unspeakable horrors. And so each sinner, according to his proportion, and the number of souls which miscarry through the contagion of his evill example. And look to it, for the bloud of so many souls as thou hast seduced will be required at thy hands, and thou must give an account for the sins, perhaps, of a thousand. Thou doest not more increase other mens wickednesse on Earth, then their wickednesse shall increase thy damnation in Hell, Luk. 16.
9. §. It were easie to goe on in aggravating thy sinne and wretchednesse; and making it out of measure great, and the souls that miscarry through the contagion of thy evill example numerous. For is not the Gospell and the name of God blasphemed among the very Turks, Iews, and Infidels; and an evill scandall raised upon the whole Church; through thy superlative wickednesse, and other thy fellows? Yea, does not this keep them off from embracing the Christian Religion, and cause them to protest against … and all such wicked and prophane wretches, are not (like dirt in the house of God) thrown out into the street by excommunication: Or as e…ovements and bad humours in mans body, which is never at case till it be thereof disburthened; as Austin well notes. That they are not marked with a black coal of infamy, and their company avoided, as by the Apostles order they ought, Rom. 16.17. 2 Thess. 3.6, 14. Eph. 5 5, 7. 1 Cor. 5.5, 11. 1 Tim. 1.20. That they are not to us as Lep…rs were among the Iews; or as men full of plague sores are amongst us. We well know the good husband man weeds his field of …urtfull plants, that they may not spoil the good corn. And when fire hath taken an house, we use to pull it down, lest it should fire also the neighbours houses. Yea, the good Chirurgion cuts off a rotten member betimes, that the sound may not be endangered. Nor will the Church of England ever flourish or be happy in her Reformation, until such a course is taken.