J88 An Expojition upon the harden tbe other in this Sin to which thou haft been _the Author andPerfVvader? How knoweft thou but they may perfift and perifh in their Wickednefs, Divine Ver.geance may fnatch them away, without aftOrdiog them Space or Grace to tepent ~ And is it n.othing to thee that thou haft damn'd a Soul as well as defil'd a Body; and for fari{: fying of thy Bwtifh Luft haft brought upon them Everiafting Woes and Torm~nrs? If God bath granted thee Mercy, how anxioufly felicitous oughteft thcu ro be to de· liver thofe out of tbe Snares of the Devil whom thou haft entangh:d therein, and by all Holy Councels and Remon!lrances reduce them unto God hy Repentance> Or if a Speedy Execution of Divine Juftice fhould cut them off befOre, what a Sad Confideration will it be to thee that thou haft eternally ruined a Poor Soul ? This, if thou haft any Senfe of Sin, or of the Wrath of the Great God due umo ir Will make rhee go mourning all ~hy Days, and bring down thy Gray Hairs whh Sor: ~m~~~ . Secondly, This is the moll degrading Sin of all others; it debaferh a Man from the Excellency of his Nature, and reff:mbles him w the Condition of Brute Beafts. The PerfeEI:ion of a Man is to govetn himfelf accordtng to Law and t<xaJOn to bound andcircumfcribe his A£tions by the Rules of what is fit and bone!{; \vh~rc~ as Beafts fhew the IAferiority of their Natures by the Scope and Range of their Unguided Appetiries, per vagas f:J cffufas libidi11es. Hence the Prophet compares Adulterers to fed Horjes, every one neighing after his 1\"cighbour's Wifr, Jer. 5· 8. And God joins fuch Impure Perfons with the vile!l and rnofr dete!lable of Brute :Beaft:s. Deut. 23. 18. Thou jhalt not bring tbe Hire of aWhore, nor tbt' Price of a Dog, inro the lioufe of tbe Lord thy Godfor any Vow; for even both tbrfe are tJn Ji. bomination to the Lord thy Gcd. Thirdly, This is a Sin that doth moll of all others obfcure and extinguifh the Light of a Man's Natural Realon and Underftanding. Nothing dotb fo much darken the Underftanding as the Fumes of Luft, Hoj. 4· 11. Whoredom, andWine 1 and l'lcw Wine, take aw(}y the Heart. And to this the (lpofile ~ives Tefiimony, Epb. 4· 18, 19. Having the l.Jnderflanding darhned, being a!tenated Jrom Jbe Life of God tbrougb tb(' Ignorance that is in them, becaufe of the 81indnifs of tbeir Heart, who being pfljl feeling have given tbemfelves over to work all Unc!ea11nejs wilb Grcedineft. So tar doth this Beallly Sin befot the Mind, and befool Men, that according to the Cha!leand Mode!G Phrafe of Scripture.language itfelf is frequeocly call'd committing of Folly ; as if there were no Folly like to tbis, and it alone deierved tO carry away the Name and Tide from all other Sins : And indeed it is a moll: NotOrious 'and Egr~gious Folly for a !bott Pang and Epilepfie of Senfual Delight to betray the Soul to • Gloomy Duloef>, Biuer Remembrance,. Guilt, and Eternal Shame and Deat.h. Fourtbly, This is a Sin jufHy the mofl: Infamous and Scandalous amonglt: Men ; a Sin that brands rhem with the greatefi Sltame and Reproach; a Reproach which can never be wiped away; and certainly if fuch an one dotb e\·er ferioufly confider his own Filth he cannot but be afbamed of himfelf: For although there be aShame confequently upon the AB: of every Sin, yet the Credit and Reputation of a Man is never fo deeply blemi!h'd, nor fofoully ftaio'd, by any Sin as that of Adultery. Prou.6. 32, 33· Whofo com111ittcth Adultery with a Woman lackelh Underflanding: l:le that dotb it dcflroyetb his own Soul; aWound andDijhonour }hall be get, and bit Reproachjhall not be wiptd .away. Ye~, the Difhonour of Adulterous Parents is fo fOul , that like a Black Blot it dilfufeth and fpreads itfe!f even upon their Children. Deur. 23. 2. A 13aftard roas not to enter into the Cmgrcgation of the Lord unto the Temh Generation. Fifthly, Con!Jderthat this Sin ofUncleannefs is aKind of Sacriledgc; a Convening of that which is Sacred, and Dedicated unto a Propbane Ufe. Whar faith the Aper !lie, 1 ·Cor. 6. •.9· Know ye not that your Body is the Temple of the lioly Ghojl? And if it were a Sacrilegious Impiety to turn the Temple of God, which confilted on!J of VileMaterials) Wood and Stone, to Vile and Inferior Ufes; if our Saviour's Zeal burn'd within him when he faw the SanCtuary rurn'd jnto a Marker, and the Houfe of God made a Den of Thieves, how much more Heinous Wickedne{S is it to convert the Living Temples of the Everliving God, even our Bodies, which were redeemed and confecrated unto God- by the Precious; Blood of JefUs Chrift, unto Impure and Unclean Ufes, and to turn his Santl:uary into a Stew? The Body is not for Fornication, but for the Lord: And your Bodies are the Members of Chrift; Will ye I ben take tk 111mJ• her of Chrifl andmake tbnn the Members if on liarlot? Godforbid. And the Apofile thinks this Sacrilegioufnefs of Uncleannefs !0 high an .Aggravatiori of theSinfulnefS of it that he infifis on it again, 1 Cor. 3· 16, 17. Know JON not that ye are rbe Temples ofGod, and
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