17Je Aggra)Jations of Gluttony. 9· 28. 1 3. It is a fin that is agreat enemy to the wmmon good: Princes and C.emmon-wealrhs have reafon to hate it and refi:rain it as the enemy of their fafC:ty. Men have not money ro defray the publick charges, ~ecetfary to the fafety of the Land, becaufe they confume it on their Guts: Armies and Navies mull: be unpaid, and Fortifications neglected, and all that tenderh to the glory . ofa people mufl be oppofed as againfi their perfonal intercil, becaufe all is too little for the throat. No great works can .be done to the honour of the Nation, or the publick good : no Schools or Almshoufes built and endowed, no Colledges erected, no Hofpttals, nor any excellent work, be... caufe the GU[s devour it all. If it were known how much of the Treafure of the Land is thrown down the Sink by Epicures of all degrees , this fin would be frowned into more difgrace. 9· 29. 14-· Gluttony and Ex«fr is a fin greatly aggravated by the Nccrf!iiies of the poor; What an incongruity is it, that one member of Chrifl (as he woul~ be thought ) !holM be feeding himfelf delicioufly every day, 0\0d aboundmg Wtth abufed fuperfllllt_J~s, wh1lfl: another ts fiarvmg and pmmg in a Cottage, or begging at the door ? and that fome famdJCS lhould do worfe than cafl their deli– cates and abundance to the Dogs, whilfi thoufands at that time are ready to familh, and are fain to feed on fuch unwholfome food, as killeth them as foon as Luxury kills the Epicure! Do thefe men 375 believe that they !hall be judged according to their feeding of the poor. .Or do they take them- Matth. •!• fdves to be members of the fame body with thofe whofe fuilermgs they fo l1ttle feel? I Cor.12 26. It may be you'll fay, I dorelieve many oft.he poor. But are there not more yet to be relieved? As long as there are any in difirefs, it is the greater fin for you to be luxuriour. Deut. I 5· 7· If there be among you a poor man nf one of thy brethren ht thy land----~houjhalt not harden thy heart, nor font toy hand again]! thy poor brother, but tboujhaltop$1' thy hand\ wide unto him, &c. Nay, how often are the poor oppreffed to fatisfie luxuriout appetiteJ. Abundai'e mufi have hard bargains, and bard ufage, and toil like Horfes, and fcarce be ablefojget bread f~ .their families, that they may bring in all to be/!Y·godLandlords, who confume tit l'tuit of other mens labours upon their devour" ing fle!h. 9· 30. 15· And it is the heinoufer fin becaufe of the common calamities of the Church and Servants of Chrifl throughout the world : One part of the Church is oppreffed by the Turk, and another by the Pope, and ma~y Countreys wafled by the cruelties of Armies, and perfeca·ted by proud impious enemies; and is it fit then for others to be wallowing in fenfuality and.gluttony? Amos 6. r, 3 , 4, 5, 6. Wo to them that art at eafe in Zio:n---Ye that put far away the evil day, and caufe the feat of violence to come near-1'hat lye upon bed1 of Ivory, and ftretch themfilvu upon their couchu, and eat the Lambs out of the floc!{ , and the Calve I out of the midft of the flaY, tlhlt chaunt tothe found of the Viol---That drini(,_Wine in bowlt, and anoint themfilvu with tl1e chief ~yntmentJ, but they are not grieved for the affiiliion ofJofeph: It is a time of great humiliation, and are you now given up to f\e!hly.luxury ? Read Ifa. 22. 12, I'J, 14· And in that day did the Lord God ofH'!fls eaU to wteping and to »UJurning, and to ba/duefs, and to girding with Jitcf<!loth ; and behold, joy and gladncfs, flaying Oxen, and kjUing Sheep, eating Flrjh and drinkjng Wine, let us tat and drink._ for to morrow we fhall dye :---Surely this iniquity jhaU not bt purged from you till ye dye, faith the Lord of Hof!s. \ • I ~· 3•· t6. Luxury IS a fin mofl unfeemly for meri in fa great mifery, and incongruous to the fiate of the Gluttonous themfel•<S· 0 man if thou hadfl but a true fight of thy fin and mifery, of death and judgement,and of the dreadful God whom thou dofl offend, thou wouldll percieve that faft· ing, and prayer, and tears become one in thy condition much better than gluuing thy devouring Ae{h. What, aman, unp:ndoned, unfand:ifi.ed,,in the power of Satan, ready to be damned ifthus thou dye (for fol mufl fuppofeofa Glutton)for fuch a man to be taking his flefi1ly pleafure! Fora Dives to be faring furnptuoufly every day., that rnufi fi1ortly want a drop of water to cool his tongue, is as fooli!h as for a Thief to feafl before he goeth to hanging: yea, and much more. For you might yet prevent your.m1fery _: and another pofiure doth better befeem you to thot end : Faftingand cry• ing mightily to God, IS fitter to your flare. SeeJ onab. 3· 8. J oel t. 14. Joet 2. I5· 9· 32· I7· Gluttony is a fin fo much the greater, by how much the more WiU andDelight you have in the committing of it : The fweetefl, mofl voluntary and beloved fin is ( c~terif paribU<) the great• efl : And few are niore pleafant and beloved than this. 9· 3:;. 18. Thofe are the worflfins, that have leaf/ Repentance: But Glu1reny is fo far from bein15 ti'uly Repented of by the luxurious Epicur~, that he lovetli it, and carcth,1and contriveth how to corn.. mit it, and buyeth it with the price of much of his ellate. 9· 34• 19. It is the greater fin, becaufe it is fofrequently committtd : . Men live in it as theirdaily practice and delight : They live for it, and make it the end of other fins: It is not a fin that they feldom fa~l into, but it i~ almofi as familiar with them~ as to eat and drink': Being turned into Beans, they live hke Beafls contmually. 9· 35• 20. Lafily, It is a[preading fin, and therefore is become common, even the fin of Coun· 1 rreys, of rich and poor: For both forts love their bellies, though both haire not the like provifion for them. And they are _fo far fi·om ta~ing warning one of another~ th'a~ they .ar~ encouraged one by another: and the fin IS fcarce noted m one of ahundred that daily ltveth m It: Nor is there al~ mofi any that reprove it, or help one another againfl it ( unlefs by impoverHhing each other) bqt mofl by perlwafions and examples do encourage it ( though fame much more than others): So that by this ,time you may fee that it is no rare, nor venial little fio. ~· 36. And now you may fee alfo, that it is no wonder if no one of the Commandments exprefly C <c torbid
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=