1 1 • 2 2 • A 1 ajewel of Ggld in aSwimt fnout,{o it afair woman witboHt Jiforet~on. And will you lull after an fuch adorned thing ? Think alfo what a dunghill of filth is covered with all thofe ornaments; that it would turn thy Horn;y:h if thou fawell what is within them. And think what a face that would be if it were but covered with the Pox ?· and what a face it will be when fickncfs or age hath confumed or wrinkled it: And think what thy admired Carkafs will be when it hath lain a few days in the grave;_ Then thou_wouldtl have little mind of it >And how quickly will that be ? 0 man there is nothmg rruly amiable m the Creature, bur. the 1mage of God; the wifdom and holi.mfs and ;;gbttou[nefJ of the foul. Love this then, if thou wilt Love with wifd,m, with purity and fafery; for the Love of Purity is pure and fafe. 9· , 4 • Direct. 12. 1hini(,on thy ?"'ndeatb andhow [aft thou hafteft to another wor/~. Is a lullful Dire/J. 12. heart a fcem\y temper for one that 1s ready to dye, and ready to fee God, and come thto that world where there is nothing but pure and holy do1h 'abide. 9· , 5 , Direct. 13. Confuler_ ~eU tbe tendency and [mill of lujf, that it may jliU appear to your Direfl. 13• mindi M ugly and. ~erribl~ Mu u mdeed. I• ~hmk what afham_e ~t IS ro the foul, that can no better rule the body, and that IS fo much defiled by Its lulls. 2. Thmk what an unfit companion it is to lodge in the fame heart with Jefus Chrill and the Holy Spirit; lhall a member or Chrill be thus polluted? flllll the T emple of the Holy Gbojl be thus turned mto aSwme fly ? Is luft fit to dwell with the Love of God? wilt thou entertain thy Lord with fuch odious company t what an unkindnefs and injury is this ro God, that when he that dwelleth in the highell Heavens condefcendeth< to _take up a dwelling in thy heart, thou fllOuldll bnng thefe Toads and Snakes mro the fame room With him? Take heed ldl he take it unkindly and be gone: He hath faid he will dwell with the humble and CD¥• trite hear I, 'bnt where faid he, I ntiUdweli in a luftful heart l 3· Think how _unfit it makes thee for Prayer, or any holy addrefs to God. What a lhame and fear a~ddeadnefs 11 calls upon thy fpirit? 4 , And think how it tends to worfe. Lull tendeth toa6lual hlthmefs, and that to Hell: cherilh not the Eggs if thou wouldllhavenon7 of theBtOod: Its a~ eafie_llep from a Luftfolhe.rtto adefi/eJbody. and a {horter flep thence to everlaflmg h9rrmu than you 1magme: As St. Jamu faHh, [Every m.sn H tempted whrn IJe Udrawn afide rf IJU onm luft and tnti[cd; then when luft bath conceived, it !Jringeth forth fin and fin when it u finijhed bringeth forth death, Jam. •· I 3, r 4· Gal. 6. 8. If ye [ow to the flejh, of th; fltjh ye jhaU reap corruption. Remember that Lufl is the fpawn of fin, and fin is the way to Hell. 9· 16. Direct. 14• Be f•re to "-eep •P a holy conjlant Government over thy 'Iho"ghu. Suffer them not Direfl. l.j.• to go after tempting, filthy, fenfual'things. Asfoon as ever a thought of Lull comes int0 thy mind, abhor it and call it out. Abundance of the cute and of thy fafcty lycth upon thy thoughts. They that let their Thoughts 1ununcontrolled, and feed on filthinefs, are already fornicflttJrs in the heart; and are hatching the Cockatrice Eggs ; and no wonder if from thoughts they proceed to dteds. 0 what a deal of uncleannefs is committed by the 'Ihoughu which people are little alhamed of becaufe they are unfeen .of men ! If the Th:mghts of many were open to beholders, what wantonnefs and lull would appear in many adorned Sepulchres "! Even in the time ofholy Worlhip; when once fuch give the unclean fpirit poifcffion of their thoughts, how hardly is he call out ? they can fcarce look a comdy pcrfon in the face, without feme vicious thought. If Hierome confcfs that in his Wildernefs, his Thoughts were running among the Ladies at Rome ; what may we think of them that fted fuch filthy PhantaUes.. SJy not,yoz~ cannot rule your 1boughu. You can do much if you will, and more than you do : If money and hmour can make an ungodly Preacher command his Thoughts to holy things, in the lludies of Divinity through much of his life, you may fee that your thoughts are much in your power ( but of this before ). 9· '7: Dittct. Ij· If other.mea>IJ fervc not, open thy c.fe to fo"!e friend, andf/,.methy {elf to bim, as Dirtfl; , 5 , 1 -advifed under the former TJ[Ie. Confeffion andjhame, and advi{e wtll help thee. 9· 18. Directo~6. Above aUgoto Chrijl furbelp and beg hi< }jirit, and give up thy Heart to better v· f1 r6 thi 1 JJ!,f: 0 ifit were taken up with God and Heaven and the Holy hfe thats neceffary thereto, thefe things ITt • • are fo Great and Holy and [wttt, and of fuch concernment to thee, that they would leave little room for Lull within thee; and would make thee abhor it as contraty to thofe things which have thy heart, No fuch cure for any carnal Love as the Love of God ; nor for fitjhly lufts as a fpiritual renewed Heavenly mind. Thou would(\ t'uen tell Satan that God hath taken up all the room, and thy narrow Heart is too little for him alone; and rhat there is no room for lufi or the thoughts that ferve it. A true Converfion which tumcrh the heart to God, doth turn it from this with other fins, though fome fparks may llill be unextinguilhed : It was once noted that many turne from other fe6ls to the Epicurtans but none from the Epicureans to any other feet: The reafon was becaufe nature is inclined to fenfua~ lity in all, and when it is confirmed by ufe and dodrine, Philofophy is toQ weak to maller it : But Chrill calleth and [aveth Epicures, and Publicans and Harlots, and bath cleanfed many fuch by his grace, which teacheth men todtny ungodlinifS aitd worldly lufts, and to live foberly righreoujly andgodly in tbe world. PbiloftratU< tells us of a luddcn change upon one I[.eU<, that turned him from Luxury to exceeding temperance : fo that when one asked ~im, Ir_not y~nder a handfom womom i he anfwered, 1bt• di[tafu of my 'Y" are cured; when they askt htm whtch dtlh was the pleafanteft, he anfwered, Dejii curare; I have rkHt regar~ing{ucb things_: and told them the reafon that marvelled at his change, Btcau[e he found that ht dtd but gatherfruJts out o[Tantalus gard<H. They are deceitful/ufts, Eph. 4· 22. And Satan himfelf will reproach thee for <ver, if he can deceive thee by them. As Altxandcr when he: had taken Dariur his gallan~ry and fumptuous Hou~es and Furniture, reproaches him with it faying, Hoccine trat imperart? was this to rule} fo Satan would fhew thee thy lufis and fay, was this to be a Chrillian and feek falvation ? . PA~T *
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