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Show 1668. ~ £hap. XIV. No CROSS, No CROWN. \ VoL. I. !lis Pleafure flood in his Duty, and his Dut~ in abejing Goa_, which L re .Advre and Serve Him ; a·na 1n ufing rhe CreattOn WHb. ~~~ tTeO:v:;anc:ind 1godly Moderation; as knowing ':"ell thJt the Lord, h" J d p arHand thelnfpeElorand Rewarder of hiS Works.]nfhorr, h~~ Ha ge~r:fs5 was in his Communion wnh God, hhi Erro-r was to le:tvc th t ccfn~erfation and let bJS Eyes wander abroad tO gaze on Tr~nfirory T~· If the Recreattons of the Age Were as ple;~fanr' and necdfart_. as tngs. f< d d ade to be Unhappy then would .Admn and hve nave 1~:~ a;~a/!1ev~~ k~ew rhem.' But had they neverJ~ll~n, lnd the World been 'tainted by their Folly and Ill Example, perh;aps ¥an had neverknow,n the Neceffity or uie of many of. rhefe Thmgs. Szn gave them Bur_h, as u dtd the other; They were afratd of the Prefence of die LOrd, w~tch .w~s the Joy of their InnDcency, when they had finned; and then the1r Mtods wandered, fought other Pleafures, and begtln to forget (iod; as he com .. Amos 6 3 4 lained afterwards by the Prophet Jlmot, They put far- d'tcay the Evrl Day: ,,6. ' ' ' they eat the fill of the Flock· They drmk. Wme m Bo~lt•: They anomt thtm· ft!ves wlllJ tf1e due/ Perfumer Tbey flre~cb tbemjeiWJ up~n Bedr of Ivory: They chant to t1Je found of tbe V1ol, and utvent 111110 tbtni{flvet ln.ftrRmtnt; 4 JlJujid, b/.:e David, 1101 beedmg or remembrm~ tbe .ABft 1?1U an~ Captnmy of poor Jofeph; Him they wickedly fold, Innocency was quae bam !he:~, and Sbt~me foon began to grow a Cuflom, ttll they were gtcrwn Oba'fe~tjr tn, the Imtt:aion. And uuly, it's now"? lefs a Shame to approach fnmmve In no ... cencc by mod en Plajnnefs, than It was Matter of Shame t? .Adam, th:n he loft it, and bec:~me forced to tack F1g LeaVtr fo.r a <;o.. v. er~ng. Wherefote in vain do Men and Women deck themf~lyes wuh /IJeclbu_~ Prtunu, r9 ~e· ligion and fl.atter their miferable So\lls With the f:iir ,TJdes of Cbri)han. Jnnca"nt, Good, Virtucm and the l!ke, whill~ fuch Vaniri~~and FoUiesreign~ Wherefore to you all, from the 'Eternal G<>4, I am b_ou.ifd td declare, Toll Ga:t. 6. 7• mock Him tbat wifl pot be 111ot~ed, and Jecerve your Jtlf)e~ 1 fuch lJJtemperance muft be denied, and yt>u muft know your fe1Ves ~an&ed, a'rld p10re nearly approached to primitive Purity, . hero\:e,you can lie e,ntttu1_e~ to !Vbar you do but now ufuq'>; for none but tboje who are led bJt1Je Sptrrt of God, Rom. 8. 14· are rhe Children of God, which guides into all Temperanc~ ~nd Meeknefs. G•l. 5' ' 4' §. VI. Bur the Cbrijlinn Worfll (ash wo~ld _be called) IS Joflly r~proveable, becaufe the very End of rhe firll Inft~~uon of App:uel1s grpflf ~Verred. The urmoft Servic_e tha~. Clother or1g1na1ty were ·defigned for.J when Sin had ftript them of the!t nauv~ Innocence, was, as hath ~een tald, ro cover their Sha~e, therefore Plam and Modefl : Nex~ To fe'!c7 su~ ~14, therefore Subftanti.ll: Laftly, To decla~e Se-xer, th~relore Dt_ftmgmJhmg. So that then Neceffity provoked to Clotbrng, now Pnde and ''am Cunofity: In former Times fome Be-nefit obliged, bur n'ow Wontomrrfr and Pleafure: Then they minded them for Cov~rrllg, bur now tha~'~ the lea~t' Parr; their greedy Eyes muft be provided 'wah gaudy Superflumc:s; as If they made their Clothes for Trimming, to befeen rather than worft; only for the fak_e of other Curiofities that muft be tacked upon. them, although they nei· ther cover Shame, fence from Cold, nor diftingui!hSexcs; but fign!llJy dif: pby their Wtmton, F.ntta!lick, [11lJ.fed lriindt, that have tbem. §. VII. Then the bell Recreations Were to ferve God, be ju(~, follow their Vocations, mind thetr Flocks, do good, exerclie thetr Bodtes m fuch Mantier as was fuitable to Gravity, Temperance and Virtue; but now that Word is extended to :~lmo1t every Folly that carries any Appearance above open Scat.dalous Filth (detefi'ed of the very ~O:~rs, , ~hen ~hey have done it) fo much. are Men degenerated from Ad 11m 10 hts D1fo·bed1ence; fo much .more confident and artificial are they grown in :;~11 Impieties: Yea, their Minds, through Cullom, are become fo very infenfiblc of the Inconvenien· cy that attends the like Follies, that what wai once rneer Neccffiry, a Badge of Shame, at belt but a Remedy ;-is now the Dc!igbr, Plea.[ure, and Recreation of the dge. HoW ignoble is it! how lngomi11ious and Unworthy of a reafonable Creature; Abn whicb is end1ud witb UnJer}lnnd.ing, .fir to un1~111pltttt Immortality, ani made a Companion (i[ nor Juprrior) to-A:n1b~; No CROSS, No CROWN. tfMt ht /htJJtld ttrind .t little D11j1? a few fhatnr/111 Ro~s; Inventionr of mecr 1668. Pride and Luxury; Toyr, fl .Apijh ait:l Fanrajltcll ~ Etturtainmenrs fo D11ll ~ (lnd Ea_rth)!. tbttt n Ratt.le, a-Baby, a Hobby·horfe, a Top, are by no .illeans Chap. XIV fo foolifb rn ajimple Child, norunr.vortby o[ bH Thought!, ttl orr fuch Invcn- . -... Jionrof the Care and Pleafure of .Aien. It U a Mark of great Stupidity that fucb Vanitier jbou/J exercifi the 1roble .ilfind of .A1an, and Image of the great Creator of Heaven and Earth. §. Vlll. Of rhis many among the very Heathens of old h1d fo clear a Profif.ea, th:u they detected a111Uch ·vanity, looking upon C11riojity in Appare, and that Variety of R-ecreations now in Vogue and Efteem wirh falfe Chrillians, to be deftrutl:ive of good Ma1111ers, in rhat it more eafily fiole away the Minds of People from Sobriety to TJI"antonneft, ldlenifr, Effeminacy, and made them only Companions for the Beafi: rhat perifhes: Wit· nefs thof~ famous Men, .AnaxogortU, Socrates, Plato, JJ.riftider, Cato, Seneca; Epiflttllf, &:c. Who _placed true Honour and S;nisfatl:iop in nothing bdow Jlirt«c and lmmortal~ty . . Nay f~ch arc the Remains of Innorencc among fome .Moorr and lndumt m our T1mes, that they do not only Traffick in a Jimple Pofiure, but if a Chrifiian (though he · mufl be an odd one) fling o~t a filthy Word, its cuftomary with them, by Way of Moral, to bring. bJ11J Wnttr to p«rge his MoJJtb. How much do the like Virtties and reafonable Jnftances accufe People profeffing Chriflianity, of grofS Folly and In· temperartce? 0 I that Men and Women had the Fear of God befor~ their. Eyes! And that they were fo charitable to themfeh'es, as to remember Whence- they came, What they are doing, :1nd to what they mufi return: That fo more Noble, more Vinuous, more Rational and Heavenly Things might be the Matters of their Plea.fure and Entertainment! That they would be once perf waded to believe how inconfifient the Folly, V:.t,niry ;~~ Converfation they are mofily exercifed in, really are with the true No: 1Hhty of a reafonable Soul;_ and let rhat jufr Principle, which taught rhc Hearhenr, teach them, left It be found more tolerable for Heotbenr than fuch Chrifiians in the Day of Account 1 For if their Shorter Notions and more imperf~a Senfe of Things could yet difrover fo much Vanity; u'their Degree of L1ght condemned u, and they, in Obedience thereunto difufed it, doth it not behove Chriftians much more ? Chrilt came nor to extin~ guifu, no, but to improve that Knowledge : .And they who think, rhey need do lefs now than before, had need .tO aa better than they think. I eoncludc, ThJt the Fafhions and Recreations now in Repute are very abu~ five of the End of Man's Creation; and that .the Inconveniencies that at ... tend the_m, as Wantrmneft, ldlene.fs; Prodigality, Pride, Luft, Rcj}eff of Per· fons (wanefs a Plume of Feather" or a. Lace-Coat :in a Coumry Village, whatever be t~e Man that wears them) with the like .Fruits~ are repugnant to ~he Duty,_ R.eafon and rrue. Pleafure of Man, and abfolutely incon· fifient With that Wifdom, Knowledge, .iUanbood, Temperance, lnduftry, which render Man truly Noble and Good. §. IX, Again, thefe Things which have been hitherto condemned have never been the Converfation or PraElH:e of the Holy Men and Wo~en of ol~ Ti.mes, whom the Scriptures recommend for Holy ~xampler, worthy of lmJ~atton. .Ahrnbt~m, ifanc,_ and· ]acoh were plain Men, and Pfi.oces, as Grafters. ~re, over their. Families an_d Flocks. T.bey were not. folicitous of th~ Vanmes fo much lived in by the People of this Gerreratioh.; fQr in all Td'htngs rhey pleafed God by Faith. The firft.forfook bir Ft~tbcr's Houfe, Kitr· red and CoJJntry; a true Type or Figure of that Self-denial al1 mun know, ~hat would have ..dbrabom ro their Farber. They muft not think to live tn tho~e PJeafures, .Fafhions and Cufioms they are c;alled to leave; no, but ~art tortb all'in Hopes of the great Recompence of Reward, and that bnter Heb. 11." numry,~ Wfittb is Eternal in tb( Heavens. The Prophets were generally poor Amos 7• '1• A1uhamc.b; one a Shepbrrd, another an Herds-.iHrm, &c. They often cry- ' 6' [~ ~ut upon the full-fed, wanton lfraclittr to Repent, to Fear .:md Dread the • 1 ~mg"od, to forfake the Sios and Vanirics thev liv'd in; but they never tmttated them, John Bapti/1, the Melfenger of r'he Lord, wbo wtU fnnOi/i· td |
