The Vanity of the Lives and Passions of Men, Chapter 17
CHAP. XVII.
Of the vanity of the paſsion of Volupty.
HAving thus deſcribed the Nature, Proprieties, and Effects of the eleven general Paſſions of men: I now come to ſpeak of ſome of the mixt, or compoſed: And will give the preheminency to Volupty, Avarice, and Ambition, as the moſt predominant Paſſions of this Age: For although I have given a hint of them in the ſecond, third, and fourth Chapters of this Treatiſe, under the notion of the pleaſures, riches, and honours of this life; yet I conceive it convenient to ſpeak of them more fully in this place; for if men would but endeavour to allay the fury of theſe three Paſſions; the boiſtrous ſtorms of our Civil Diſtractions would ſuddenly be changed into a calm of Peace; Sith the diſtemper of them hath ever been from the beginning of the Creation to this day; the chiefeſt Incendiary of all the Civil broils and mutations which have happened in the World, as it will appear in the deſcription of their pernitious Effects.
There are divers ſorts of Volupties; yet they may be reduced under theſe three heads:
1. The Spiritual.
2. The Natural.
3. The Carnal.
The firſt is ſuper-excellent, the ſecond harmleſs, the third ſinful.
The Spiritual proceeds from the delight the Saints take in the hearing of Gods Word, and in the meditating in his*Pſal. 1.2. Law day and night: And in their prayers and other exerciſes of religious duties, or in the contemplation of the admirable works of the Creation; and how they have been preſerved in their firſt being for ſo many years together, by his Wiſdom and Divine Providence: But ſpecially in the conſideration of the incomprehenſible love of God towards mankinde, manifeſted by the ſending of his only beloved Son into the World to redeem his Elect from eternal death.
The Natural proceeds from a delight men take when they eat, being hungry, when they drink, when they are athirſt, ſleep, when they have watched, and reſt when they are weary; and from divers other ſuch refreſhments of Nature.
The Carnal proceeds from a tickling delight of the five ſenſes; for every one of them have their peculiar volupty, as it appears by the proprieties of their organs: The Eyes take delight in beautiful objects, the Ears in melody, the Noſe in odoriferous odors, the Pallate in delitious Wines, and the Members in wanton feelings. Now when any of theſe delights of the ſenſes becomes diſordinate, it is called a carnal volupty, whereby it is apparent that our five ſenſes are the original ſprings of all carnal volupties, which are innumerable. But the volupty I intend to ſpeak of, is a mixt delight, compoſed of two of the moſt laſcivious ſenſes, viz. of the ſeeing and feeling, called luſt or lechery: And by conſequence the moſt ſinful of any, if it be refractory to the Rules ſet down in the Word of God: This paſſion is more pleaſant then any other to our corrupt nature; for delight is the darling of nature, and dolour her mortal enemies; and the more pleaſing it is to the fleſh, the harder it is to overcome, For the fleſh, ſaith S. Paul, luſteth againſt the Spirit, and the Spirit againſt the fleſh; and as theſe are contrary one to another, ſo are their operations: For the fruits of the Spirit, are joy, peace, long-ſuffering, gentleneſs, goodneſs, faith, holineſs, &c. But the works of the fleſh, are adulteries, fornications, and uncleaneſs, &c. This Antipathy ſhould then move Chriſtians to endeavour to overcome this paſſion as the greateſt Antagoniſt againſt the grace of ſanctification; for if it getteth the maſtery over their reaſon, it will deprive them of their love and filial fear, and tempt them,1 Cor. 6.15. To make of the members of Chriſt, the members of a Harlot. It is alſo one of the moſt prevailing ſnares of Satan, by which he draweth more millions of ſouls into the Pit of deſtruction then by any other ſin whatſoever: And therefore give me leave to enlarge my ſelf upon theſe particulars:
1. Upon the definition of this paſſion.
2. Upon the nature of it.
3. Upon the cauſes, why ſome are more addicted to it then others.
4. Upon the evil proprieties of it.
5. Upon the pernitious effects of the ſame.
6. Upon the judgements that God doth inflict upon voluptuous men.
7. Upon the means or remedies which are to be uſed to avoid the venome of it.
8. And laſtly, Upon the expreſs prohibition of the ſame by the Word of God.
Firſt, Volupty is a compoſed paſſion of love and deſire,The definition of Volupty. ariſing from a tickling delight of the ſenſes when men enjoy really, or by imagination, ſuch objects as ſeem pleaſant to their phanſie. It is ſo general, that all ſuch as are under the ſtate of Nature, are more or leſs addicted to it: Nay, the regenerate are ſometimes enſnared by it, by the temptations of Satan and their original corruptions; the difference between them, is, that the unregenerate by their impenitency die in their ſins, and the regenerate by the free grace of the ſanctifying Spirit of God, are awaked out of this ſpiritual lethargy, and by an unfained repentance are converted and reconciled to God.
Secondly, It is of a feminine nature; for all ſuch as are overmuch addicted to this paſſion, looſe their maſculine generoſity, and become effeminate: Hercules did caſt off his Club and Lyons skin, to veſt himſelf and ſpin like a woman before Omphale his Miſtreſs. And it is daily ſeen that voluptuous men imitate in their geſtures, carriage and faſhions, the Courtizans of theſe days; for they powder their hair, wear black patches, and paint their Faces as they do. It was not then without cauſe, that the ancient Poets did repreſent volupty under the ſhape of the old Witch Circe; for as ſhe transformed the Paſſengers who ſailed through the Straits of Sicilia into Swine if they liſtned to her Charms: Even ſo Volupty doth transform into brute beaſts rational men, if they converſe long, and let themſelves be enſnared by the alluring Charms of Harlots; for as Zerubbalel proved it before King Darius, the Charms of a beautiful woman are more powerful then ſtrong Wine,Eſdras 3. from the 14. ver. to the 32. or a mighty King.
Thirdly, The Cauſes why ſome men are more addicted to this paſſion then others, may be natural, accidental, or artificial: ſuch as are naturally more addicted to it, are commonly of a hotter and moiſter conſtitution then others, and theſe are of a ſanguine complexion; for the Bilious are hot and dry, the Flegmatick moiſt and cold, and the Melancholike cold and dry, which are not ſo apt to the Venereal delight as the Sanguine. The Accidental Cauſes are, The hot Climate where men live: for Heat dilates the ſpirits outwardly, and Cold reſtrains them inwardly. And Experience doth ſhew that the Africans, Spaniards, and Italians, whoſe Climate is hotter then the Germans, Dutch & Engliſh, are the moſt addicted to Venery. And yet they are not ſo apt to generation as the laſt: becauſe the deſire of the reiteration of the Act doth weaken their bodies, and doth waſte their ſpirits. Idleneſs, Pride and Fulneſs of bread is alſo an Accidental Cauſe why one Nation may be more addicted to Venery then another. For this was the Cauſe why the Sodomites (as the Prophet Ezekiel ſaith) were ſo vitious,Ezek. 16.49. and tranſported with Luſt. The Artificial Cauſes are, Sophiſtical meats; Delitious Wines, and enticing Simples, Drugs and Amber-gris over-much uſed in theſe days to provoke Men and Women to Luſt.See Guicciardine in the Emperor Charls the Fifth his Life. Guicciardine records, that a King of Tunis, being at Naples, ſpent five hundred Ducats in enticing Drugs and Amber-gris to dreſs a Peacock, to incite himſelf and the company that ſupped with him that night to Luſt. But theſe Means are deſtructive to the Soul and Lives of Men. For Inſtance, the Queen of Arragon gave Ferdinand her Husband an inticing Love-Drink to make him more apt to the Venereal ſport,See the Hiſtory of Spain in Ferdinands Life. but it caſt him into an incurable Conſumption, which brought him to his grave. And Van-Dick an excellent Dutch Painter, loſt lately his life by theſe inticing Drugs provoking to Lechery. Alaſs; Men are too prone of themſelves to ſin without Artificial Means to provoke them to it.
Fourthly; The evil Proprieties of this vitious Paſſion are ſo numerous, that I ſhould be over-tedious to ſpeak of them all: and therefore will ſpeak but of ſome of them.
Firſt, It is inſatiable; and may be compared to the horſleech, to the barren womb, and to the Grave; for the Deſires of Voluptuous men are never ſatisfied with their carnal Delights, their bodies being ſooner tyred with the reiteration of the Act, then their Luſt can be exſtinguiſhed. For many have been found dead in their Miſtreſſes Armes, by endeavoring to ſatisfy their Luſt beyond their Natural Abilities. The Reaſon of it was, becauſe overmuch evacuation of the ſpirits exſtinguiſheth life.
Secondly, it is as inconſtant as the wind; for they delight in nothing more then in changes, becauſe their judgement is ſo depraved by the Spirit of uncleanneſs which beſots them, that they cannot diſcern the beauty of one Object from another, and do often forſake the moſt lovely, to dote upon the moſt unworthy and deformed: conceiving erroneouſly, that ſtollen waters are the ſweeteſt.
Thirdly, It hath a Deſtructive quality; for it provoketh men to commit the moſt abhorred ſins that can be named.Gen. 12.15. By it the Sodomites were inticed to commit with the very Angels the ſin againſt Nature.Gen. 19.5. It moved Pharoah and Abimelech to take away by violence Sarah, Abrahams wife; Reuben to defile his Fathers bed;Gen. 35.22. Gen 34.2. Judg 19 25. Sechem to deflour Dinah; The Gibeahnites to abuſe brutiſhly the Levites concubine; David to commit Adultery with Bathſhebah, and to vail his ſin to murther Ʋriah her husband: Amnon to raviſh his own ſiſter Tamar: Sueton. in his Life.Auguſtus to take away by force Livia from her husband;Tacitus in his life. Caligula to commit Inceſt with his two Siſters; Nero to defile himſelf with his mother;French Hiſtory. Faragonde to murther King Clotair her Husband, that ſhe might the more freely enjoy her Paramour;Engliſh Hiſtory. King Edgar to murther his Favourite, to marry his Wife; And King Roderick to raviſh Duke Godfreys Daughter,Spaniſh Hiſtory. which was the cauſe of the Conqueſt of Spain by the Moors: And a thouſand like abhorred ſins, which ſhould move Chriſtians to abhor and flee from this moſt accurſed and ſinful paſſion as from a Serpent.
Fifthly, The Effects of it are rather worſe then better: 1. It deprives men of Reaſon and Underſtanding; for Sampſon, a Nazarite from his Mothers womb, and a Judge and Deliverer of Iſrael, was ſo beſotted by the charms and laſcivious allurements of Dalilah, Judg. 13.6.that he revealed a ſecret unto her, in the concealing of which did conſiſt the ſafety of his own life, and of his native Countrey. 2. Solomon the wiſeſt Prince that ever lived upon Earth,1 King. 3.12. was by the allurements of his Wives and Concubines turned away from the Lord, and offered Sacrifices to their Idols. 3. Marcus Antonius, a valiant Commander of the Romans, who never had been foiled in all his Martial Archivements before he was infatuated by the alluring charms of Cleopatra; was ſo deprived of underſtanding, that at the Battel of Antrium (when he had the better of the day) he fled away,Plutarch in his life. to follow her that carryed his heart away, and by the fond love of a woman loſt his life and the Empire. Charls the Seventh King of France, was ſo beſotted by the laſcivious embracements of La-belle Agnes his Concubine,The French Hiſtory. that he neglected all the Civil and Military Affairs of his Kingdom, to Court and dally the time away with her; and had loſt utterly his Kingdom by this paſſion of Volupty, if his Miſtreſs that was of a generous ſpirit, had not rouzed him out of his laſcivious dumps, ſaying thus unto him, I was foretold in my youth (ſaith ſhe) that I ſhould be one day the love and Miſtreſs of the greateſt and moſt valorous Prince in Chriſtendom: But it appears by your carriage that I am the love of the moſt effeminate Prince in Europe; for you ſuffer the Engliſh Nation to rent your Kingdom into piece-meals; and in lieu to be King of France, you are through your puſillanimity become the petty King of Bourges; for ſhame rouze up your ſpirits, and let not a Forraign Nation deprive you of Life and Crown. Theſe taunting reproaches coming from a woman that was dearer unto him then his own life, did ſo enlighten his underſtanding, and inflame his courage, that he inſtantly undertook to relieve Orleance that was then beſieged by the Engliſh: And after he had enforced them to raiſe their Siege, he drove them by degrees out of all they held in France (Calice only excepted.) 2. It deprives the deareſt childern of God for ſome time of the love and favour of their heavenly Father: As it doth appear in the lives of King David, and of Solomon his Son;2 Sam. 11.2.3. for David by the laſcivious embracements of Bathſheba was caſt into a ſpiritual Lethargy for a whole year together, and deprived of the ſweet communion he had formerly with his gracious God; ſo that in lieu to be penitent for his ſin of Adultery,Verſ. 13. he committed one after another, two other abhorred ſins; for to palliate the firſt, he cauſed his Servants to allure Ʋriah to drunkenneſs, that his underſtanding being depraved by the vapors of the Wine, he might return home and lie with his Wife; but this wile failing, he cauſed him to be murthered by the ſword of the children of Ammon; yet was his underſtanding ſo ſtupified by this bewitching ſpirit of uncleanneſs, that he had dyed in his ſins, if God out of his infinite mercy had not ſent the Prophet Nathan unto him,2 Sam. 12.1. to rouze him out of this mortal ſpiritual ſlumber.1 King. 3.11, 12. And King Solomon lay many years in ſuch a deadly ſpiritual lethargy, that he was utterly inſenſible of his groſs Idolatries and abhorred Fornications: for in number of Wives and Concubines he did excel all the Turkiſh Emperours: and had periſhed in his ſins if God out of his accuſtomed mercy towards his Elect, had not out of Free-grace given him the gift of an unfained repentance, as it appears by his Book of Eccleſiaſtes written after his converſion. 3. It deprives men of all true content, and over-whelms them with grief and ſorrows: for in what condition ſoever voluptuous men finde themſelves, they neither take pleaſure nor content, except their minde be alwayes bent upon the means that can make them attain to the fruition of their carnal delights; for in them they erroneouſly conceive doth conſiſt their ſupream felicity: whereas the termination of the pleaſures of the fleſh, is ever the beginning of miſery and wo: And therefore Ariſtotle to diſſwade his Diſciples from carnal volupties, told them that they were like the Mer-maids, who are extraordinarily beautiful above water, for their face is round and fair, their hair as yellow as gold, their eyes of a loving dark gray, their mouth ſmall, their lips as red as Coral, their teeth as white as ſnow, their breaſt as round as an apple, and their arms, hands, ſhoulders, back, flanks as white as Alabaſter, but their tail is like the tail of a great Serpent, frightful, full of teeth, and mortal venom: Even ſo carnal volupties are delightful to mens corrupt nature, and ſeem to be ſweeter then honey and the honey comb at the firſt enjoyment of them; but at their adieu, they are bitterer then gall, and more loathſome then the ſnuff of a candle, and for one dram of carnal delight: they over-whelm their Clients with anguiſh and ſorrow, and make them ſhed rivers of penitent tears, whenſoever God is pleaſed to give them the gift of an unfained repentance. Beſides, all true joy and content doth conſiſt in the favour and love of God, and in the aſſurance he doth infuſe in the hearts of his Elect by his bleſſed Spirit, that they are juſtified and reconciled unto him by the ſufferings, blood, and paſſion of Chriſt his only Son our moſt gracious Saviour; and this love, favour, and aſſurance is permanent and eternal; but the joy and content proceeding from carnal volupties, are for continuance like a fire of Thorns under a Pot, or like the morning dew which vaniſheth away at the riſing of the Sun; for the leaſt blaſt of dolor and affliction doth ſuddenly make the very remembrance of carnal pleaſures vaniſh away like ſmoak; moreover, the very conceits, imaginations, and deportments of voluptuous men are meer vanity and vexation of minde; for their paradiſe upon Earth is to be always muſing upon the beauty, comlineſs and perfections of their Miſtreſs: Nay, ſome are ſo infatuated by the ſpirit of uncleanneſs which doth poſſeſs them, that they do Idolize their picture, kiſs their dreſſings, and other things they wear, nay the very ground they tread upon: And can there be any real content in theſe abſurd vanities, mad and fooliſh deportments? ſurely no: for theſe vain phanſies whereon they fix their minds, divert their thoughts from being diligent Hearers of the Word of God, and careful obſervers of his Ordinances, from which they might reap true content. 4. It deprives men of their means; for Princes, Noble-men, Gentlemen, Merchants, and Artificers, who are given to volupties, do commonly fall into penury; for as Solomon ſaith, By the means of a whoriſh woman, a man is brought to a piece of bread. I will prove the point by Inſtances. 1. All the Treaſures of Aſia did not ſuffice to defray the exceſſive volupties of Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra. 2. All the Revenews of the Roman Empire did not ſerve to diſcharge the laſcivious riots of the Emperors, Caligula, Nero, Vitellius, Domitianus, and Heliogabalus. 3. All the comings in of the Kingdom of France, did not ſuffice to defray the laſcivious volupties of Henry the third King of France; for he left the Crown indebted fourſcore millions of Crowns, although he raiſed the Subſidies and Impoſts of his Realm as much more as they were in his Fathers Reign; whereby it may be collected, that voluptuous Princes are the greateſt Oppreſſors of their Subjects. 4. Daily experience doth ſhew that many Noble-men, Gentlemen, and rich Merchants, ſpend and conſume their Portion or Patrimony as the Prodigal Son did with Harlots and riotous living. 5.Luk. 15.13. It ſhortneth mens days and makes their lives miſerable; for none can deny but continency, temperance, and ſobriety doth preſerve men in health and doth prolong their lives. And without health the greateſt Monarch upon the Earth can neither have joy, nor content: And to that end God was pleaſed to add health and length of days to thoſe extraordinary gifts he gave unto King Solomon; 1 King. 3.14.otherwiſe his Wiſdom, incomparable Magnificence, and incredible riches had not afforded him any true joy or content. Beſides, carnal volupties do not only conſume mens Eſtates, and impair their health, but it makes alſo their life miſerable and loathſome to themſelves; for what anguiſh, grief, and dolours, perplexity and vexation of minde is it to a miſerable Patient, that is ſick of the Venereal diſeaſe, to ſee his members rot away by piecemeals, and to ſmell the ſtinking vapours that proceed from the inward corruption of his body. And what vexation is it unto him to ſee Wife, neareſt Parents, and intimate friends to eſchew the very ſight of him, and forſake him in theſe anxieties? Oh what inward torments doth he feel by the gnawing worm of an awakned conſcience which doth rack him day and night, by the horrid repreſentations of his former pollutions? Oh what unſpeakable terror do poſſeſs him, when he ſees and feels the arrows of the Almighty, Job 6.4.as Job ſaith, to be in him, the venom whereof doth drink up his ſpirits, and the terrours of God fight againſt him for his former tranſgreſſions? Chriſtians ſhould then endeavor to mortifie this ſinful paſſion, if it were but to preſerve their means, and lengthen their days. But 6. it endangers alſo their ſouls, for if they continue in their impenitency till the end of their days, they run a hazard, without the ſpecial mercy of God, to be deprived for ever of his gracious preſence; For S. Paul ſaith in the affirmative ſenſe,Heb. 13.4. Whoremongers and Adulterers God will judge: And by the Levitical Law,Levit. 19.10. The Adulterer and Adultereſs were both to be put to death; yet Chriſt our Saviour goeth further; for he ſaith, Whoſoever looketh upon a woman to luſt after her, Matth. 5.28.hath already committed Adultery with her in his heart. Now if the intellectual adulteries and pollutions of the imagination deſerve eternal damnation, the actual fornications of voluptuous men, who take no other delight but in the commiſſion of ſuch ſcandalous ſins, muſt of neceſſity deſerve a greater puniſhment, if any did exceed the torments of Hell. The conſideration then of the evil nature, pernitious proprieties, and deſtructive Effects of this ſinful paſſion ſhould induce Chriſtians to endeavor by all means to cruſh this Cockatrice in the ſhell before it getteth the maſtery over their reaſon: Otherwiſe if this evill ſpirit of uncleanneſs doth poſſeſs the noble faculties of their ſouls, it will require an extraordinary meaſure of Grace to caſt him out, and will coſt them many ſighs, groans, and floods of penitent tears; for this unclean ſpirit is of the ſame kinde as our Saviour ſpeaks of, which cannot be expelled but by faſting and prayer. Math. 17.21.Now if they cannot be induced to this ſo neceſſary duty, by the reaſons, moral precepts, and ſtrong Arguments before cited, let the enſuing judgements of God inflicted upon voluptuous men awake and force them to it.
Sixthly, The judgments of God inflicted upon particular Voluptuous men and whole Nations, are ſo numerous, that it would be an endleſs piece of work to ſpeak of them all. I will then make choyce but of ſome of them.Gen. 19.5.24. 1. All the Inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah were deſtroyed with Fire and Brimſtone (righteous Lot and his two Daughters onelyonly excepted) for their abhorred Luſt and ſins againſt Nature.Num. 25.9. 2. Twenty four Thouſand of the People of Iſrael were conſumed by the Plague for their fornications with the Moabitiſh women. 3.Judg. 20.47, 48. All the Tribe of Benjamin (Six hundred only excepted) were deſtroyed by the Sword for Patronizing the abhorred Luſt of ſome of the Gibeahnites, committed upon the Levites Concubine.See Herodotus. See the French. Hiſt. 4. All the Inhabitants of Ionia were deſtroyed by Cyrus for their laſcivious Volupties. 5. All the French that were in Sicilia were murthered in one night by the Sicilians for their uncleanneſs and fornications committed with the women of that Kingdom.See the Hiſt. of Naples. 6. A great Borough near unto Putzola in the Kingdom of Naples, was in one night overwhelmed by a juſt judgement of God, with fire, brimſtone and the aſhes of a hill near to it, for the abhorred Luſts againſt Nature of the Inhabitants of the ſame. 7.Gen. 34.26. Reuben was deprived of his Birth-right, for defiling of his Fathers bed. 8. Shechem loſt his life for the rape of Dinah. 9.Numb. 25.8. Zimri was run through the body with a Javelin by Phinehas for his impudent Fornication with a Midianite Lady. 10. Eli the High Prieſt,1 Sam. 4.17, 18. and Hophni and Phinehas loſt their lives; the two laſt for their pollutions committed with the Iſraelitiſh women that came to Shiloh: and the firſt for not reprehending his Sons ſo ſeverely as he ſhould have done for their laſcivious courſes. 11.2 Sam. 11.4. King David was ſeverely puniſhed for the Adultery committed with Bathſheba. 12. Amnon his Son was killed by the ſervants of Abſolom his Brother, for the Rape of his ſiſter Tamar; 2 Sam. 13.14.29.And Abſolom was ſlain by the commandment of Joab, for having defiled his Fathers Concubines in the ſight of the Sun, and of all Iſrael. See the Eccleſiaſtical Hiſtory. See the Millan and Florentine Hiſtory.Pope John the Twelfth was murthered in his bed, for his Adultery committed with a Roman Lady. 14. One of the Sforza's, Duke of Millan was murthered in the Church of S. Steven by a Gentleman for his Adultery committed with his Wife. 15. Alexander de Medecis Duke of Florence was ſlain in his bed, as he waited for the coming of a Gentlewoman he had allured to his luſt. 16. A Counſellor of the Court of Parliament of Paris, ſlew a Gentleman and his own Wife as they lay abed together, for he ſtruck them both thorow the body with a Stiletto as they were upon the very act: And from thence went to the Court, and without perturbation pleaded the Caſe under fained names, and obtained a definitive ſentence of abſolution from the ſaid court for the murther by him committed: For as Solomon ſaith,Prov. 6.34. Jealouſie is the rage of a man, therefore he will not ſpare him in the day of vengeance. Theſe inſtances and many others that might be produced of the judgements of God inflicted upon whole Nations and particular men, for the puniſhment of their laſcivious volupties, ſhould refrain them from this deſtructive paſſion, and make them flee from it, as from a Serpent, & induce them to leave no remedies unattempted to mortifie the ſame. But before I come to ſpeak of the moral and ſpiritual remedies which are to be uſed to curb, or to ſubdue this ſinful paſſion; give me leave to anſwer an Objection which ſome Moraliſts make to palliate the ſin of it.
Voluptie (ſay they) is but a venial ſin,Object. and the moſt innocent Paſſion of all others; for it is the Darling of Nature, and all men and women are naturally inclined to Delight; neither could they ſubſiſt in the midſt of ſo many woes and ſorrows to which they are incident, if it were not for theſe natural refreſhments that you call Volupties. And ſith the fire and heat of this paſſion is cooled or utterly extinguiſhed by old age; men need not be ſo copious in the deſcription of the evil nature, proprieties and effects of it: Nor ſo tedious in the manifeſtation of the remedies that may mortifie the ſame: For Volupty doth not encreaſe by Age, as Avarice and drunkenneſs doth.
I anſwer,Anſw. that in regard of the actual act of Volupty, old age may quench the flames of it. But as for the intellectual deſires, I ſay that old men who have from their youth been addicted to this kinde of Volupty, will long as much after that delight, as the Avaricious men do after the encreaſe of their Treaſures, or the Drunkards after the taſte of delicious Wines, except they be ſanctified both in body and ſoul by the ſanctifying Spirit of Gods Free-grace; for old age, nor all the precepts of Morality cannot caſt out of a mans heart this ſpirit of uncleanneſs, if once he hath taken poſſeſſion of it, becauſe it is of the ſame kinde Which goeth not out (as our Saviour ſaith himſelf) but by prayer and faſting; Math. 17.21.that is to ſay, by the meer and immediate operation of the ſanctifying Spirit of Grace, as it ſhall be proved by Inſtances and divers Paſſages of the Word of God, when I ſhall ſpeak of the ſpiritual remedies which are to be uſed to mortifie this paſſion: As for the moral remedies that I am now to ſpeak of, they are theſe; firſt men are to endeavor to attain to an habit in theſe four Vertues or Graces:
1. Continency.
2. Temperance.
3. Fortitude.
4. Sanctification.
Secondly, they are to eſchew theſe four ſplitting rocks or great inticers to all laſcivious Volupties.
1. Idleneſs.
2. Alluring Objects.
3. Suſpected places.
4. Evil company.
And in ſo doing they will undoubtedly by the help of the ſanctifying Spirit obtain the victory over this ſpirit of uncleanneſs, that is the greateſt Oppoſite to the grace of ſanctification; for there is a greater antipathy between holineſs and pollution, then there is between fire and watter, the Lyon and the Cock, the Dog and Cat, or between Vice and Vertue. Theſe things conſidered, I will begin with thoſe things which are to be eſchewed; for it were to ſmall purpoſe to endevor to attain to an habit in theſe four Graces, If men do not eſchew the four things above ſpoken of, by which the uſe of theſe Graces would be ſoon annihilated.
Firſt, Idleneſs is to be eſchewed, for if mens minds be not bent upon laudable employments, they will buſie themſelves in unlawful things, becauſe their ſpirits are naturally active: And as ſtanding waters become loathſome, even ſo men who have no employment become vitious: And daily experience ſheweth, that ſuch as are rich and have no calling, are more addicted to Volupties then the meaner ſort. The Lacedemonians of all the other Greeks were the moſt active and valorous; and the Athenians the moſt voluptuous; becauſe the firſt were kept under a ſtrict Diſcipline, gold and ſilver being prohibited in their Commonwealth, and all manner of volupties baniſhed, and Military Atchievements cheriſhed. But the ſecond were rich, and by conſequence Idle, and did nothing (as the Apoſtle S. Paul ſaith) but hear or tell news; Act. 17.21.or did employ themſelves in all kinde of carnal Volupties. Therefore ſuch as will be continent, muſt addict themſelves to ſome lawful calling, and are to be diligent in the ſame:Prov. 10.4. For a ſlothful hand, ſaith Solomon, maketh poor, but the hand of the diligent maketh rich: Fulneſs of bread and Idleneſs were the cauſe, ſaith the Prophet Ezechiel, of the abhorred luſts of the Sodomites: And for this cauſe the Emperour Severus made a Decree, that all men whatſoever living in the City of Rome, ſhould imploy themſelves in ſome lawful calling,See Herodian in Severus life. and wear upon their Apparel the badges of their profeſſion, that all idle perſons might be baniſhed out of the Commonwealth, becauſe Idleneſs is the mother of all vices. The point might be proved by many inſtances, but two ſhall ſerve for brevity ſake.
1. As long as King David addicted himſelf to Martial Achievements, he never was carryed away by the temptations of Satan, to luſt after other mens Wives: but when he was Idle, and walking upon the Leads of his Palace, he was enſnared into ſin by the beauty of Bathſheba, the Wife of Ʋriah the Hittite.2 Sam. 11.2.
2. As long as the Prodigal Son was employed about the mannaging of his Fathers Houſhold affairs, he carryed himſelf like a dutiful Son, but as ſoon as he was Idle, and had obtained his Portion, he waſted the ſame among Harlots,Luk. 15.13. and by riotous living; for Satan deſireth no better opportunity to tempt men to ſin, then when they are Idle.
Secondly, alluring Objects are to be eſchewed, and ſpecially thoſe of the feminine Sexe, for many are bewitched by the glances of their eyes; and that is the reaſon why King David after his fall prayed unto God he would be pleaſed to turn his eyes from beholding vanity: Pſal. 101.3.as conceiving the beauty of women to be the greateſt vanity under the Sun; for the glances of their eyes are as deſtructive to mens ſouls, as the glances of the eyes of a Baſilisk are to their bodies:Prov. 4.25. And that is the cauſe why Solomon ſaith, Let thine eyes look right before thee, intimating, that to look aſide upon a beautiful woman, is a ſign of a laſcivious eye; but to look on her ſtraight, is a token of an innocent eye: And it is moſt certain, that of all the five ſenſes, the Eye doth more then any other encreaſe the Kingdom of darkneſs: becauſe they are the windows whereby all unclean thoughts enter into the ſoul, from which do proceed all the actual and intellectual Fornications and Adulteries; and that is the reaſon why our bleſſed Saviour doth charge us to pluck out our right eye if it doth offend; Math. 5 29.meaning we ſhould mortifie the luſt of our eye, rather then be caſt into Hell; for as S. John ſaith,1 Joh 2.16, 17, 18. The luſt of the eyes is not of the Father, but of the world, and the world paſſeth away, and the luſt thereof; but he that doth the will of God abideth for ever.
Thirdly, All ſuſpected places where men may be allured to luſt, are to be eſchewed.
1. The Schools of love, as the Italians call them.
2. Publick meetings.
3. Enterludes.
4. Court-Revels.
For in all theſe, men do finde alluring Objects to commit ſin; and when opportunity, time, and place meet together, men or women muſt have a great meaſure of Grace to refrain them from ſin.
As for the 1. Solomon diſcribes elegantly in theſe words, the alluring charms of the Miſtreſſes of the Schools of love,Prov. 7.10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. & 27. Behold there met him a woman in the habit of a Harlot and ſubtile of heart; ſo ſhe caught him and kiſſed him, and with an impudent face ſaid unto him, I have peace-offerings with me; this day have I payd my vows: Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to ſeek thy face, and I have found thee; I have deckt my bed with coverings of Tapeſtry, with carved work, with fine linnen of Egypt, I have perfumed my bed with Myrrhe, Aloes and Cinamon; Come let us take our fill of love until the morning; let us ſolace our ſelves in loves, &c. But the concluſion of it is, Her houſe is the way to Hell, going down to the chambers of death.
For the 2. Dinah by rambling abroad to ſee the publike Sports, was Raviſhed by Shechem the Prince of the Land.
For the 3. Enterludes, Playes and Comoedies, are the very Seminaries of all uncleanneſs; and the Aretin poſtures that are there ſeen, with the laſcivious Dances and Diſcourſes, do inflame and intice men and women to Luſt.
For the 4. Court-Revels and Masks have been the overthrow or loſs of many womens chaſtity:See the Hiſtory of England and France. Edward the Third, and Edward the Fourth, Kings of England, and Henry the Third, and Henry the Fourth, Kings of France, were all of them allured to luſt by the beautiful Objects they ſaw in their Court-Masks.
Fourthly, All evil Company is to be eſchewed; for in them lyeth an inſenſible venom; the Effects of which do not appear ſuddenly; but in continuance of time it will ſhew it ſelf viſibly in the life and converſation of men and women; for young men that fall into evil company, will at the firſt be aſhamed of it; but after they have frequented them, they wil delight in it, then they will palliate and excuſe them; and laſtly, they will patronize and maintain them: And become as vitious, profane, and debaucht as the worſt of them; and therefore as he that toucheth Pitch ſhall be defiled with it:Eccleſ. 13.1. even ſo ſuch as haunt evil company, will at laſt be infected with their vices: Beſides, it is a diſhonour to converſe with evil company; for if men were as righteous as Lot, Who was, ſaith Peter, 1 Pet. 2.7, 8.vexed from day to day with the unlawful and ahhorred ſins of the Sodomites; yet will he be reputed as vitious as they by this common Proverb, That birds of a feather do ever flock together. Now I come to the four Vertues or Graces which are to be obtained, to mortifie and ſubdue this ſinful paſſion of Volupty.
Firſt, men are to endeavor by fervent prayers to obtain from God the Grace of Continency, which is diſtinguiſhed by corporeal and intellectual; the firſt is common to natural men as well as to the children of God; but the ſecond is onelyonly peculiar to the true Elect, becauſe it is an immediate gift of the ſanctifying Spirit of Grace, to ſuch as are regenerated by a juſtifying Faith, for by Faith men are juſtified, and afterwards ſanctified: for all things which are done without Faith, cannot,Rom. 14.23. ſaith S. Paul, be acceptable unto God; contrarily they are an abomination unto him. The Heathens have excelled in the corporeal continency, moſt of the Chriſtians of theſe days, as it may appear by the carriage of Alexander the Great towards the two Daughters of King Darius; See Plutarch and Livy in their lives.and of Publius Scipio towards a Spaniſh Lady that was his Captive; but none of them could ever attain to the intellectual continency, becauſe they were out of the Covenant of Grace: and by conſequence incapable of a juſtifying Faith: And among thoſe who were under the Convenant of Grace, the number was ſmall that were truly continent, or had the gift of the corporeal and intellectual continency, except it were Iſaac, Joſeph, and S. Paul, for all the other Patriarks were addicted to Polygamy. The corporeal continency may proceed from natural cauſes, as from a defect of Nature, as the Eunuchs, or it may be obtained by the precepts of Morality and a good education; But the intellectual cannot be acquired, becauſe it is a ſupernatural Grace of the ſanctifying Spirit, except it be by frequent and fervent prayers to God, who is the only giver of it: And certainly by the want of this Grace of intellectual continency, many of the moſt precious Chriſtians of theſe days commit Adultery in the cohabitation with their own Wives; of which they ſeldom repent. Which doth induce me to enlarge my ſelf upon this point. Chriſt our bleſſed Saviour, who was the beſt Interpreter of the Law that ever was upon Earth, doth tell us plainly,Math. 5.18. That whoſoever looketh upon a woman to luſt after her, hath committed Adultery with her already in his heart. Now this luſt proceeds from the eyes;1 Joh. 2.17. and the luſt of the eyes, ſaith S. John, is not of the Father, but of the world, and the eyes convey the ſame into the heart; and from the heart, ſaith our Saviour, proceed evil thoughts, Math. 15.19.murthers, adulteries, fornications, &c. So many looking upon a woman with laſcivious eyes, make ſuch an impreſſion in their imagination of her beauty or comelineſs, which is ſuggeſted to their phanſie by their ſenſes and the temptations of Satan, to excel the beauty or comelineſs of their Wives, that in the very cohabitation with them, their mind is wholly bent upon this forraign object, and not upon the ſame they embrace; and this is a plain intellectual Adultery of the heart, committed in the Matrimonial Bed, which is as odious to God (although it be not cenſurable by men, becauſe it is inviſible) as the actual Adultery with a ſtrange woman. This ſhould move all true Chriſtians, who through a filial fear are timerous to offend God, to be cautious of their ways, that they be not enſnared by their deceitful hearts, and the temptations of Satan in this kinde of Adultery: or if they be, that they may unfainedly repent of it before death part their ſoul from their body, otherwiſe without the ſpecial mercies of God, their ſouls may run as much hazard by this ſort of Adultery, as by the actual.
Secondly, men are to endevor to attain to an habit in Temperance and Sobriety, vertues or graces oppoſite to the vices of gluttony & drunkenneſs, two of the greateſt provokers to Luſt. Theſe are alſo diſtinguiſhed by corporeal and Intellectual.
The corporal Temperance may be acquired by Moral Precepts, but the Intellectual is an immediate gift of the Sanctifying Spirit of grace, and cannot be obtained but by Prayer; for God is the only giver of it: And it is properly called Meekneſs of ſpirit, and the inſeparable companion of the grace of ſanctification; The proprieties and effects of which are apparently ſeen in the carriage and replies of Job, Moſes, Ely, David, and Hezekiah. 1. When the Meſſengers came ſuddenly after one another to acquaint Job of the loſs of all he had, and of the death of his Children: he replyed with an admirable meekneſs of ſpirit,Job. 1.21. The Lord hath given, and the Lord hath taken: bleſſed be the name of the Lord. 2. Moſes with the like meekneſs did patiently endure the falſe and offenſive reproaches of his own brother and ſiſter,Numb. 12.3. for the which he is called by the Holy Ghoſt the meekeſt man upon earth. 3. Eli with the ſame meekneſs of ſpirit anſwered the Prophet Samuel, when hd had acquainted him of the will of the Lord,1 Sam. 3.18. concerning the death of his two ſons, and the caſting off of his Poſterity from the High-Prieſts office; it is the Lord, let him do what ſeemeth good unto him. 4. When King David heard the bitter Curſes of Shimei, for the which Abiſhai would have ſlain him, he anſwered with the like meckneſs of ſpirit,2 Sam. 16.9, 10. Let him curſe, becauſe the Lord hath ſayd unto him, curſe David; who ſhal then ſay, Wherefore haſt thou done ſo? 5. When the Prophet Iſaiah was ſent to King Hezekiah to denounce the heavy judgement of God againſt Jeruſalem and his poſterity, he anſwered with the like meekneſs of ſpirit,Iſal 39.8. The word of the Lord is good which thou haſt ſpoken. Whereby it appears that the temperance of the minde is a great curb to bridle the violence of the Paſſions of men: for the Anſwer that Joſeph gave to his lewd Miſtreſs when ſhe tempted him to lie with her, did proceed from the ſame root, and from the filial fear he had of God:Gen. 39.8, 9. Begold my Maſter knoweth not what he hath in the houſe: but hath committed all he hath into my hands: there is none greater in the houſe then I: neither hath he kept any thing from mee but only thee, becauſe thou art his wife: How then can I do this great wickedneſs, and ſo ſin againſt God? But ſuch is the depravation of this age, that I have heard ſome Voluptuous men call continent Joſeph a very Sot, for having rejected the laſcivious Summons of his Miſtreſs, and neglected through a Puerile Fear, the Time, Place and Opportunity to enjoy the pleaſures of her embracements. As for the Corporeal Temperance and Sobriety; the Heathens have alſo excelled moſt of the Chriſtians of theſe days in that noble vertue, as it ſhall appear by theſe Inſtances. 1. King Cyrus being demanded by his Steward, Where and What he pleaſed to have for his Supper, Anſwered, I will ſup by the River-ſide, and have only for my Diet Bread and Salt: for Drink we ſhall have enough out of the River. 2. The Queen of Caria having ſent to Alexander the rareſt Cooks that were in Aſia, he ſent them back unto her, with this Meſſage, that he had no need of Cooks as long as he did obſerve the Precepts of his Tutor Leonides, who had charged him to exerciſe his body in the Morning in running of Races on foot, or in the mannaging of his War horſe, to give him a ſtomack to his Dinner: and to walk two or three miles in the Evening, to have an Appetite to his Supper. 3. Phocion, one of the Governors of the Athenian Commonwealth, was found at Dinner (by the Embaſſador that Alexander ſent to him with a Preſent of ten Talents) with one ſingle diſh of meat;See Plutarch in his Life. and having demanded of the Embaſſador the reaſon why Alexander did ſend him ſuch a Preſent; he anſwered, Only for your integrity & vertue; Let him leave me ſo, ſaid Phocion, for this Gold will make me unjuſt and vitious, and ſo with thanks ſent the preſent back to Alexander. 4. Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus, See Livy in his 1. Decade.Dictator of the Roman Commonwealth, was found at Dinner with a ſmall piece of meat and a diſh of Turnips, by the Embaſſadors of the Samnites that were ſent unto him with a great ſum of Gold, to induce him to ſhew them favor in the obtaining of a Peace which they required of the Roman Senate: Whereupon Cincinnatus ſhewing them the frugality of his Diet, ſaid unto them, Tell the Samnites, that he that can be contented with ſuch Fare, needs no Gold; and therefore carry it back; for if their requeſt be juſt, they ſhall have my favor without it. There are evidences of the Temperance of the ancient Perſians, Greeks, and Romans concerning the paſſions of Avarice and Volupty. But as ſoon as the Perſians by Cambiſes, and the Greeks by Alcibiades, and the Romans by Lucullus were allured to deſire riches and pleaſures,See Herodotus in Cambiſes Life. they became the moſt covetous and voluptuous Nations of the World: and all their former Vertues were turned into Vices: Therefore I conclude, that Temperance and Sobriety are the inſeparable companions of Continency and ſanctification: And that Riches, Gluttony and Drunkneſs are the greateſt Provokers to luſt and carnal Volupties: And this Paſſage of S. Paul doth confirm the ſame, They that ſleep, ſaith he,1 Theſ. 5 7, 6. ſleep in the night: and they that are drunken are drunken in the night. But let us which are of the day be ſober. Therefore let us not ſleep, but let us watch and be ſober. Intimating that none are more fit to attain to holyneſs then thoſe who are temperate and ſober: And none more adverſe then drunkards and voluptuous men.
Thirdly, men are to endevor to attain to an habit in Fortitude, called by ſome a vertue; but when it is accompanied with Faith, it is a grace of the ſanctifying Spirit. 1. By it Shadrach, Dan. 3.20Meſhach and Abednego did endure with admirable Conſtancy the burning flames of the fiery furnace heated ſeven times hotter then it was wont to be, rather then to worſhip the golden Image that Nebuchadnezzar had ſet up. 2. By the ſame Fortitude Daniel did make choyce to be caſt alive into the Lyons Den,Dan. 6.10, 16. rather then to reſtrain himſelf from making his Addreſſes by fervent prayers three times a day to God. 3. By it all thoſe Worthies nominated in the eleventh Chapter to the Hebrews did ſuffer with incredible Patience all the torments there ſpecified.Heb. 11. 4.See the book of Martyrs. By the like Fortitude all the Martyrs in Queen Maries days did ſuffer with a ſweet temper of ſpirit the fiery Tryal that was inflicted upon them. And as it is the propriety of the Chriſtian Fortitude to endure without murmuring all the torments that are inflicted upon them; ſo it is another of its proprieties to endevor to ſubdue the laſcivious Volupties of the fleſh: believing that he who can overcome his own Paſſions, is a greater Conqueror then Alexander. The Heathen do much extoll and boaſt of the fortitude of Cato, See Plutarch in his Life.who ripped up his bowels with his own hands rather then he would be beholding to the clemency of Caeſar. But theſe murthering reſolutions are rather evidences of Puſillanimity then of true Fortitude. For a ſudden Death is a leſſer torment then to continue a long time in anguiſh and daily tortures. Beſides, the magnanimity of Decius Curius and others, did rather proceed from vain glory then from any true fortitude: But the Chriſtian fortitude hath no other end then the glory of God, and to overcome their ſinful Paſſions.
Fourthly, men are to endevor to attain an habit in the grace of Sanctification, as the Seal of their Juſtification and Regeneration and Redemption; And the onelyonly way to obtain the ſame, is by frequent prayers and dayly exerciſes in Religious duties: having ever in their mind theſe Paſſages of Scripture,Heb. 12.14. For without holineſs no man ſhall ſee the Lord. 2 Theſ. 2.12Becauſe God from the beginning hath choſen you to ſalvation by the ſanctification of the Spirit, 1 Theſ 4.3, 4, 5, 6.and the faith of truth. And that you ſhould abſtain from fornication: that every one of you ſhould know how to poſſeſs his veſſel in holineſs and honor; and not in the luſt of Concupiſcence, even as the Gentiles which know not God. For God hath not called us to uncleanneſs, but unto holineſs.
Now becauſe Sanctification is the crown of all other Chriſtian graces, I will here ſet down the ordinary means whereby the Bleſſed Spirit doth infuſe the ſame in the hearts of the Elect (for all natural men are incapable of it;) which is commonly done by degrees, and not ſuddenly, as their Juſtification. Yet in ſome it is more ſudden, and in others more flow, according to the activity or remiſneſs of Chriſtians in their exerciſes of Piety. The firſt Means is, That the Bleſſed Spirit doth move them to be diligent Hearers and Readers of the Word of God;Rom. 10.17. For Faith (ſaith S. Paul) commeth by hearing, and hearing by the word of God; And none can be Sanctifyed without a Juſtifying Faith. 2. It endows them with the ſpirit of Prayer, and with mortifying Graces, whereby they overcome their Original and Actual corruptions. 3. It moves them to be cautious in all their ways, and to be ſenſible of the ſmalleſt ſins, and to flee from all appearance or provocation to ſin. 4. It infuſeth in their hearts a ſtrong Averſion to ſin. 5. It engendreth in them a reverent love, and a filial fear, which keeps them from ſin. 6. It doth convince them of all their ſins; and ſpecially of their boſome ſin. 7. By this conviction it begets in them an implacable hatred againſt their Darling ſin. 8. By this hatred it doth enlighten their Judgement, and openeth the eyes of the ſame, whereby the miſerable condition they are in by the enormity and multiplicity of their ſins is made apparent unto them. 9. By the conſideration of this miſery it induceth them to ſeek earneſtly the means whereby they may be delivered out of it. 10. It infuſeth in them a conſtant reſolution to return to their heavenly Father, and to humble themſelves in Sackcloth and Aſhes before him. 11. It mollifies their hearts, and makes them grieve, mourn, and lament for their ſins; by which Spiritual Sorrow, never to be repented of, it begets in them an unfained Repentance. 12. And Laſtly, being by this Cordial Repentance reconciled to God, by the merits of the Paſſion of their Bleſſed Saviour, it begets in them an extream thirſt after the living waters of that Fountain which was opened to the houſe of David, Zach. 13.1.and to the Inhabitants of Jeruſalem for ſin and uncleanneſs. And ſo by a conſtant perſeverance in the ways of Righteouſneſs, they attain by degrees to that meaſure of Sanctification as is required to ſee the Lord with Joy and Conſolation. For the moſt Sanctified man upon Earth cannot attain to a perfect degree of Sanctification as long as he liveth in theſe tabernacles of clay; the perfection of this Grace being reſerved for the glorified Saints in Heaven.
Eighthly, to Conclude, I admoniſh all thoſe who earneſtly deſire to attain to ſome degree of holineſs, to ſuppreſs betimes the venom of this vitious Paſſion of Volupty, before it turn into an Habit in them; For (as I have ſaid in my Anſwer to the Objection of ſome Moraliſts) the Volupty of the mind doth as much encreaſe with Age, as do the vices of Avarice and Drunkenneſs, as it is confirmed by this Saying of the wiſe Son of Sirach, All bread is ſweet to a Whoremonger; Eccl. 23.17.he will not leave off till he dye.
Now to terrifie and induce Voluptuous men to abhor this ſin of Uncleanneſs, I have collected theſe enſuing Paſſages out of Solomons Proverbs, and out of Eccleſiaſticus, to ſhew them how Deſtructive this ſin is to their Means, Bodies, and Souls.
The lips of a ſtrange woman drop as an hony comb, and her mouth is ſmoother then oyl: but her end is as bitter as wormwood, and ſharper then a two-edged ſword, her feet go down to death, her ſteps take hold of hell. Prov. 2.3, 4, 5.
Who ſo committeth adultery with a woman, lacketh underſtanding: he that doth it, deſtroyeth his own ſoul. Prov. 9.32.
Stollen waters are ſweet, and bread eaten in ſecret is pleaſant: but he knoweth not that the dead are there, and that her gueſts are in the depth of hell. Prov. 9.17, 18.
For a whore is a deep ditch, and a ſtrange woman a deep pit. Prov. 23.27.
Give not thy ſoul to a woman to ſet her foot upon thy ſubſtance. Eccleſ. 8.2.
Meet not with a harlot, leſt thou fall into her ſnares. Eccleſ. 8.3.
Gaze not on a mayd, that thou fall not by thoſe things that are precious in her. Eccleſ. 8.5.
Give not thy ſoul unto harlots, that thou looſe not thine Inheritance. Prov. 8.6.
Look not round about thee in the ſtreets of the City, neither wander in the ſolitary places thereof. Eccleſ. 8.7.
Turn away thine eye from a beautifull woman, and look not upon anothers beauty: for many have been deceived by the beauty of a woman: For herewith Love is kindled as a fire.
Sit not at all with another mans wife, nor ſit down with her in thy arms: and ſpend not thy mony with her at the wine, leſt thine heart incline unto her, and ſo through thy deſire thou fall into deſtruction. Eccleſ. 8.10.
A man that breaketh wedlock, ſaying thus in his heart, Who ſeeth me? I am compaſſed about with darkneſs: the walls cover me, and no body ſeeth me: What need I to fear? The moſt High will not remember my ſins. Such a man only feareth the eyes of men, and knoweth not that the eyes of the Lord are ten thouſand times brighter then the ſun, beholding all the ways of the ſons of men. This man ſhall be puniſhed in the ſtreets of the City: and where he ſuſpecteth not, he ſhall be taken. Eccl. 23.18, 19, 21.
By theſe and many other places contained in the Word of God, it is apparent that the laſcivious Paſſion of Volupty is more deſtructive to men then any other Paſſion whatſoever. Therefore it behoveth all ſorts of men, whether they be yong or old, to be cautious of their ways, that they may not by their own corruptions (ſet on fire by the temptations of Satan) be enſnared in this horrid ſin of uncleanneſs: And ſpecially that it turn not by a continued cuſtom into an habit. For if it doth, it will coſt them rivers of bitter tears before this ſpirit can be expelled; Becauſe the beſt Divines hold, that an old Voluptuous ſinner is harder to be converted then any; becauſe the ſin of Volupty is ſo ſutable with the natural inclinations of men. Yet if yong men would always have this Saying of Solomon in their mind,Eccle. 11.9. Rejoyce O Yong man in thy youth, and let thy heart chear thee in the days of thy Youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the ſight of thine eyes: But know thou, that for all theſe things God will bring thee to judgement; And Old Voluptuous men this Saying of the Prophet Iſaiah, Iſal. 55.6.7.Seek ye the Lord while he may be found; call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forſake his ways, and the unrighteous his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him: and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. There is no doubt but God out of his infinite mercy would have compaſſion of them, and hinder that Satan ſhould not tempt ſo many Voluptuous Old men to Deſpair as he doth, by ſuggeſting falſly that their ſins are unpardonable; And ſo inticeth them to put violent hands upon themſelves, which is to commit a ſin that is Couſin-german to the ſin againſt the Holy-Ghoſt. Therefore when Old men, who have from their Youth been addicted to Actual Fornications and Adulteries, and by an habit in theſe ſins do impenitently continue in their decrepit Age, by the inſtigations of Satan, in the intellectual Fornications and Adulteries of the heart; let them caſt (I ſay) theſe falſe Suggeſtions of Satan like dung into his face. For to deſpair of the Mercy of God, is to yield him up their Spiritual weapons, and to commit an unpardonable ſin. For were their ſins greater then the ſins of Manaſſeh King of Judah, and equal with that of Judas, who betrayd his Lord and Saviour: yet if they deſpair not of Gods Mercy, they will undoubtedly find Mercy: God being pleaſed ſometimes to magnify his unparalleld Mercy, by calling ſome impious ſinners into his Vineyard at the laſt hour of the day, and to give them out of his free grace, the ſame wages as he had agreed to give to thoſe who had born the burden and heat of the day.Math. 20.12.