Serm CLX. The Evil ofCorrupt Gominianicdtion. 399. of the Holy Gbofl. Flee fornicatiòn, lays he. Every fin that a miîn loth, is with- out the body : but he that committethfornication, finneth againfi bs men body, i that is, thebody is not the immediate inftrument ofother fins, as it is of thofe of uncleannefs ; and then it follows, What, knowye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Gho/i which is inyou, whichye have ofGod, andye are not your own? Forye arebought with aprice: therefore glorifie God inyour body, and inyour fpi- rit, which are God's. Under the naine ofFornication the Apoftle comprehends all the fins of uncleannefs, of which any member of the body is an inftrument ; fd that the lafcivioufnefs of the Eye, or Ear, or Tongue, is a polluting and pro- phaning this temple of God, and drives the Holy Spirit of God out of his pof- femora. And whenever the Spirit of God departs from us, we ceafe to be the Children ofGod, and forfeit the cornett of our eternal inheritance. Now if any man have not thefpirit of Chr, fays the fame Apoflle, Rom. 8. g, he is none ofhis; that is, he does not belong to him, in plain Englifb, he is no Chrian. So that as we would not forfeit the title of Chriftians, and the bleffed hope of a glorious Refur- redion, we tuft be very careful that no corrupt communication proceed out of our mouth, left hereby we grieve the holy fpirit of God, by which we are fealed unto the day of redemption. I have now done with this Argument, and what I have faidconcerning immo- deft and unchafte words, is of equal force againft lafcivious Books, and Pictures, and Plays ; all which do alike intrench upon natural modeftÿ, and for that reafori are equally forbidden and condemnedby the ChriftianReligion ; and therefore it may fuffice to have named them. I (hall only fpeak a few words concerning Plays, which as they are now order'd among us, are a mighty reproach to the Age and Nation. To fpeak againui them in general, May be thought too fevere, and that which the prefent Age cannot fo well brook, and wouldnot perhapsbe fo juft and reato- nable; becaufe it is very poffible, they might be fo framed and governed by fuch Rules, as not only to be innocently diverting, but inftruding and ufeful, to put fome vices and follies out of countenance, which cannot perhaps be fo decently reproved, nor fo effectually expofed and corrected any other way. But as the Stage now is, they are intolerable, and not fit to be permitted in a civilized, much lefs in a Chriflian Nation. They do moft notorioufly mintier both to infidelity and vice. By the prophanenefs of them, they are apt to inftil bad Principles into the minds of Men, and to leffen that awe and reverence which all Men ought to have for God and Religion : and by their lewdnefs they teach vice, and are apt to infelt the minds of Men, and difpofe them to lewd and diffolute Pra-' dices. And therefore I do not fee how any Perfon pretending to Sobrietyand Virtue, and efpecially to the pure and holy Religion of our bleffed Saviour, cán without great guilt, and open contradiction to his holy Profefllon, be prefent at fuch lewd and imrnodeft Plays, much lefs frequent them, as too many do, who yet would take it very ill to be fhut out ofthe Communion ofChriftians, as they Would molt certainly have been in the firft and pureft Ages of Chriftianity, To conclude this whole Difcourfe, let us always remember that Gravity and Modefty in all our behaviour and converfation, in all our words and allions, are duties indifpenfibly required by theChriftian Religion, and the great fences of Piety and Virtue ; and therefore ought with great confcience and cate to be preferved and kept inviolable: and when thefe fences are oncebroken down, there is a wide gap made for almoft any fin and vice to enter in. Immodeft words do naturally tend to corrupt good manners, both in our felves and others. There is none of us, but would reckon it a very great infelicity tobe depriv'd of that noble and ufeful faculty of Speech, which is fo peculiar to Man, and which, the brute beafts: butritisa much greaterdunhappinefs to havethis us to abufe it to vile and lewd purpofes. The firlt may be only our misfortune : but this
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