450 CHRISTIAN MORALITY, VIZ. CHASTITY, &C. [SEAM. XXYIr; saith the same holy writer, " let neither fornication, nor any ,unclean practices be so much as once named amongst you as becometh saints :" that is, let them never' be named without abhorrence. " For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor any unclean person, nor covetous man who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingt}orn of Christ and ofGod. Let no man deceive you with vain words ; for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Eph. v. 3-6. The visions of St. John in the book of the Revelation, pronounce the doom of whoremongers with the rest ef notorious sinners, and give them their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the se- cond death. Rev. xxi. 8. How impiously bold are those sinners,, who dare venture through all these terrors to gratify a sensual appetite,! Who can rush upon the point ofthe avenging sword of God, and plunge themselvesinto everlasting burnings, to taste the deceitful baits of impure and forbidden pleasure ! Before I conclude this head, I would just hint a few directions to those who wouldpreserve their modesty and virtue, and prevail against all temptations to impurity, 1. Set a severe watch upon your eyes and your heart. -Keep all the powers of nature under a proper discipline, and guard all the avenues of the soul. Secure your senses without, and your fancy within, as much as possi- ble, from all allurements of this kind. Let us remem- ber, that sin often begins in the imagination, and therefore wemust estahlish,a strict guard upon our roving thoughts, and reduce themwhen they first begin to go astray. We must lay a strong chain of restraint upon these endless wanderers ; for our Saviour himselftell us, " Out of the heart proceed adulteries and fornications, which defile the man." Mat. xv. 19. We must make a self denying covenant with our eyes, teat we may not look upon temptation, lest we be led astray from the paths of purity. Our blessed Lord him- Self gives us a sufficient caution, when he explains the seventh commandment : .Mat. v. 28. I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust.after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. When our Saviour forbids a wanton look, he requires that we put a vail upon our eyes, "lest like wandering
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