Spiritual PerfeElion. T ile Lulls of the defiring A pperitc, Intemperance and Uncleannefs,. are fa polluti ng , tha t the confc~oufnefs of fuch Crime~ ~vill cover t.h~ g~i l ry WHh confufian. Of all ~~e .dcba fi ng utles, whereby the Dev1! ~s chara~e.nz d ~n Scriprure, none is more vtlifymg than that of the unclean Sptrtt : Thts ts atmbuted to him from the genera l nature of Si n. But there is fuch a nmorious turpitude in Lulls grofly carna l, tha_t they defile and def~me the Sinner in a fpecial manner, noc only as a Rebel agamll God, but the ferv ant of Corruption. The underllanding is the leading fupr eme Faculty: Senfe that rules in Bealls, fhould ferve in Man. Now what does more vilifie him, than to be di!folv 'd m filthy Pleafures, to be drown'd m a fea of \'{ine; than a L1fe fe~fua l and diiTolute, drawn out in a continual connexton of dreggy dehgtns? Ga~ ming fuccecds Fcall ing , the BaH follows the Comedy, the Impurities of the Night the Intemperance of the Day . Sen(ua l Lulls degrade Men from the Nobiltty of their Nature, the di gnity of thm Cond tt tOn, ·as if they were all Flefh, and had not a fpirit of Heavenly ori ginal, to regulate and reA:raio their lower Appemes within the limits Pi•l.• 9 of Purity and Honour. The llaves of oen[eartli!uth<b<Ajls th•t perifb. Hethatisa Beall by Choice, is incomparably more vile than a Beall by Nature. It would infect the Air to fpeak, and pollute the Paper to write, their .fC:crer Abominations wherein they lye and languifh; and ' ris natural for Men to dye in thofe Sin; wherein they live ; they fea l their own Damnation by Impenitence. How difficu lt the purging of thefe paffions is, Experience makes evident. The radicared habits of Uncleannefs and Intemperance are rarely cur'd. )Tis the vain Sen. ddmvie . boaft of the Roman Philofopher, Nobis ad nojlrum 11rburi11m nafci lictt: but we muft "' firll die to our fdves, before we can be born of our felves : the forfa king a finful Courfc is nece ffarity antecedently to the ordering the: Converfation according to the Rules of Verme. How few inftances are there , of pt::rfons recovered from the praaice and bondage of thofc Lulls, by the wife Counfels of Ph ilofophers ! 'Tis in vain to reprefent to them, that fenfu al Lulls are prolifick of many Ev ils; rhat Intemperance is pregnant with the Seeds of many Difeafes: it prepares matter that is inflamable into Fevers; 'tis attended with tbe Gout, Stone, Cholick, Dropfie, &,. which are incomparably more romenting, than the pernicious pleafures of talle are delightful. Reprefent to them the foul progeny of Lafcivioufne!S, rottennefs in the Body, wall, ing the Ellate, Infamy, to facrifice what is moll valuable for the fake of a vile Wo· man ; the wifeA: Confiderations are loft · upon them, they are too weak a Bridle ro checl< their brutilli Lulls. But are not t hefe Lulls eafily fubdued in Chria;ans, who have the advantage of clearer Light, llronger Motives, and more liberal alliflance of Grace, to refcue them from the power of Sin ? Eccl. 1 . :6, The wife obferver tells us, I pnd more bitter than death, the womAn whrife heart is ' ' · ,s. fnam and nns, and her hands are ,u bands: whofo pi"f" God, ftaO t{cap< from h<r, but tlu Jinner {ball be takm by her. B,hoJd this have 1 found, faith the preacher, counting one b1 one to find out the account, but I ftnd not: one man o/ a thou{and hJvt I found, b1U a woman among all theje have I not found. . 'Tis allonilliing, that for a fhort dream of pleafure, men fh?uld defptfe Heaven and Hell, wha t is moll deflrable, and moll fearful. How JUtl ts the reproach mtXt Prov. 1 • with Compaffion and Indignation, HoiV long ye fimple ones will you love JimplicitJ, and fools l~au knorvltd?,<? . 'Tis worth the inquiry, how men are fottifhly feduced to Jive unchallly and tn· temperately, againfl the reafon and reil of their Minds. . 1. The great Temptation to Sin is the love of Pleafure; accordmgly, the de· grees of fenfual Pleafure, being more intenfe in tho[e carnal F aculties that are for the preferving and propagating Life, efpecially when heightned by the carnal Fancy, the law of the Members prevails againll the law of the Mind. 'Tis faid of unclean perfons , whofe Eyes are full of the Adulrerefs, they cannot ceafe from Sm; they can· not dif- enrangle themfelves from the embraces of the circling Serpent. 2. Carnal pretences are made ufe of to defend, or at leafl excufe the fin of Intemperance , which makes it more eafily indulg'd, and pernicious in ~tfefr. Me~, if it were pollible, would fin without fin, without difcovering the gudt and tUrpt · tude of it, that tbey may enjoy their pleafures without accufing, recotltng thou ~h!S, which will turn the fweetefl Wine into Vinegar. Now fince Meats and Dnni<S are nccelfary for our vita l fupport, and the meafure is uncertain and various, ac· carding to the difpofltions and capacides of mens bodies, Intemper~te perfons feed high, and drmk deep, Without relleEhon or remorfe, and pretend tts for the Refrefhment of Nature. l· F!c!bly
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=