The Cure of Gluttony. dojl, or left thou doft put a IQti/t to thy throat J that is , TIJ~u art ar bad ar cutting thy throat, or dejlroying thy [elf, whw thou art giut1on01tj/y feeding tby felf· J Keep up Refolution and tho power of Rcafon. Dirtll. 12 • 9· 6o. Direct. 12. Rtmembtr wb.zt thy Body i1, and what it will fhortly be, and !Jow lotht/ome and See 1 Cor. 6. vile it will be in the dnft· And thot think how far Jitch a Body jiJOuld be 'pampmdand pleofed; and . . IJ. at what ratu, Pay npt too dear for a feafl for Worms: Look ipto the grave, and fee what is the 'l:j;; ~IJ~ifl& end of all your pleafant meats and drinks ; of all your curiouS coflly fare. You may fee there the i~: ;~~;e'w_rciw Sculls call: ~p, and the ugly hole of tha! mouth which devoured fo many fwect delicious morfels : t~<r, 11on curr.t But there Js none of the plea!tne of H noW left. 0 wonderful folly! that men can fo eafily, fo magnope~emmm eagerly, fo obfiinatcly, wafie their dlatcs, and negleCt their fouls, and difpleafe their God, and in :rbi/'~t~~f~ e~ect eveu fell their ~opes ofHea.Ven, fo~ fo final\ and fordi_d a delight, as the ~leafing Of fu'ch a COII{ici~t. Hie~ p1ece of flc01, tha_t mu(\ fhortly have fo ~1le an end! Was 1t worth. fo mu_ch care; and toil, and ron. Epill. ad cofi, and the c~llmg away of your falvatwn, to pamper that body a little whtle that mu!1 Chouly be Pau~. f~ch a lothefome carkdS? Methinks one fight of a Skull or a Grave, 010uld make you thinkGlmtony NLhJI -~~m and Lwxury madnefs. Ecckf. 7· 2. It it !utter to go to the hrnt[e of rizourning, th.m to the houfe of :~~:~ ~:\ ~~::- jeajli11g : for that ii tbe md of aU m(!}t, and tbe li.vi.ng wil~ "lay it. to heart. David faith of the wick~ p~r:~ntiam, ed, Let me not eat of tbeir d.1intiu; bur, Lrt the rigFneour [mite me aud reprovemt, PfaJ. 141. 4, S· So quam frequens dangerous a thing is FeajHHg even among friends, where of it felf it is lawful, that J ob thoughr it cogJt:mo hrc- a fc:afon for his f ears and facrijice, Job J, 4, 5· And hU [on! went and f eafted in tbeir boufu every one ~~;c~~~Q~c~ h~ d~y, ond_fiNt and caUcd for tbcir three Sijters to eat ~.md to drink,. with them. Bur J ob facnriccd ~uid faCJS re~ for them faytng, It may be niy fo;u havefinned, and curfed ( that is, thought provukjngly, unreverently, .p1cc monem. unbolily or contemptuotrjly of) God in their heart!. Tbm didJobcontinuaUy. A Funeral is a fafer place Swc. · tOr you than a Ftaft. Direlf, 13• ~· 6 1. Dirct"t.13. Go imo the houflJ oftbe poorfometimu, andfoe what provifion they liveupon,and what time they {pmd at fllCat: And then bethin~ you, whether tbtir dyet oryours do ttnd more to the mortifi– cation of fic.fhly lu[fs; and whether theirs will not be as fweet as yourS at the lafl:? And Whether meer Riches fhould make fo great a ditferencc: in eating and drinking between them and you ? 1 know th~t where they want what is neceffary to their health; it is law!ul for you to exceed them) and be thankful: But not fo as to forget their wants, nor fo as to turn your plenty to excefs. The wry figbt now and then of a poer mans dyet and manner of life would do you good; feting alf,cretl~ more dun hearfay. Dirtll. 14. §. 6z. Dired-. 14. 'Look._ ttpon the amimt Chrijli.ans, the p:ztttrn.r of abftimnce, and think.. whether their lives wtre lil{,c to yours. They were much in faftings and abftinence ; and llrangers to gluttony and exccfs: They were fo prone to txcefs of abfiinence, rather than txcefs of meat, that abundance of them lived in Wilderneffes or Cells, upon roots, or upon bread and water: ( From the imitation of whom in a formal hypocritical manner came the fwarms of fryers that are now in the world J.: And will you commend their holinefs, and abfiinence, and yccbe fo far from any feriollf imitation of them, that you will in glutto~«y and excc:fs, oppofe your felves directly againfl them ? §. 63. 1have now dctet:l:cd the odioufnefs of this fin, and told you if you arewitling how you may befi avoid it; If all this will not (ervc, but there be any propbam perfon rzmong yoz' lik._e Efau, ~/;~ for one morfeU of meal fold his birthrigbt, Heb. 12. 16. who for the pleafing of his throat will fell lule6. ~~. . his foul, let him know rhat God bath another kind ofCure for fuch : H~ may Clfi thee iqto poverty, :;~ tj3tr!~;~ where thou fhalt .be a Glutt~n only in defire, but not have to [atUfie thy ddlre .; He may lhortly cati fh•ll iJu,,ger. thee into thofe dJfcafes, wh1ch 0Jall make thee lotah thy pleafaut fare, and w1fu thou hadll the poor mans fare and appetite; and make thee fay of all the baits ofthy fcnfuality, I have no plea{ure in tbem, Ecclef. 12• z, The cafe will be altered with thee when all thy wealth, and friends, and greatncfs cannot h:ecp thy pampered carkafs frorn corruption, nor procure thy foul a comfort equal to a drop of water to cool thy tongue, tormented in the flames of Gods difpleafure ; Then all the comfort thou canfi procure fromGod or Confciencc will be but this fad Mememo, Remember tiJat thou in thy life time receivedft thy good thingi, and 1ikewife Lazarus evil things: but now ht ~ comforttd and thou tir1 tor– mentrd. Luke 16. 25. Jarncs 5• 1, 5· Go to now ye Rich mm; weep a1rdhowle for your miferiu tb:Jt jhalJ come »~pon yot~___:_i...Ye have lived in pltafitre on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourifbed y our beam as in a daj of Jlaughtcr : yebavt condemned and kJUed the jujl, &c. Temp~rlmi- ~;~~~~~ia, non Pa:nam. Stntc, ~· 6 4 . Yet after all th1s, I {hall ~emember you .that you run not into the contrary extre•r:n.; Place' not more Religion in external abf\mence and fafimgs than you ought : Know ~our own conditiOn, and how far either fatlht or eating is really a help.or a hinderance to you in thole greacer things which are their ends, and fo far ufe them. Adecaymg body mull be carefully fupported ; An unruly body mufi be carefully fubdued : The fanie medicines ferve not for contrary tempers and difeafes; To think, that abltaining from jkjh, and glutting your (elves with fi(h, and other meats is acceptable ro God; or that mcer abfiairting fo many houis in a Week,and ferving your appetite ou the refi) is meri– torio·us, or thatabftinence from meat will prove you holy, without an abttinence from fin, ail this is felf-deluding error. Nor mull you raife a great many of perplexing fcruples about all that you ear or drink, to no Edification, but meerly to your vexation : But in cheerfUl Temperance prcferve youi Health, and fubduc Goncupifcenoe• Tlt- z,
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