OCR Text |
Show 7'' !679· ~ Pan. I. Sea ... Ga\,6.h6, 7• An AJdre fs to 'Proteflants. VoL. I. that as he ls the Rewarder of them that fear, love and obey him, fo he is the fevere Punifher of all fuch as uangrei$ his L:J.w, and break his }{ighce-ous Commandments: If (I fay) you believe thefe Things, and nol only that there is a Final Day of Reckoning, but that God, even in chis World' recompenfes his Judgments upon the Wicked, and ' 'ifits Nations with h~ hot Difpleafure becaufu of rheir Impiety (which hath been the fen!ible Experience and free Confeffion of all Ages) then 1t belo~gs to us of rhefe Kingdoms to refte8: upon C~UI felves, and take a true Vtew of our Aaions fince Divine Vengeance, for ought we fee, is fltU at the Door. And forth~ Lord's J3ke, let us have a Care in the doing of it, fince God will nor be t!Uick.~ ed; and that our Mifcarriage in fuch an lnquiry,will be, as only our own Infelicity, fo of infinite Moment to us. I muft needs be plain and earneft here; For if we mifcarry in the Search, we 01311 certainly mifcarry jn the Cure. Sin gives the deadlieft of all Wounds to Mankind; but wirh Grief I .fay it, for 'ris too true, there is no Wound fo £lightly healed. We ra.~ ther feek our Eafe, than our Security ; like thofe Fools thar love the plea· · fanreft, not the fafeft Potions. h is ill at :1U Times to ft.mer a Man's felf; but it is moft Dangerous about Reptntonce. Something Men would keep, fomething Men would hide; and yet they have to do with that Starcher of Hearts, from whom it is impoffible they fhould hide any. Thing. This Folly increafcs our Account, endangers our Cure, and makes our Condition Defperate, if not irrecoverable. Jer,J7• 10. John '3· 21. Rev. 22.1:z. 2Cor. 13. I• Sefl. 2. ~ .. 0 England, my Native Country, Come to Judgment! Bring thy Deeds- tD the true Light; fee whether they are wrou..ght ir1 God or no. Pur not off thy felf with Hay, Straw and Stubble; for they will burn, and the Fire is or tbe Door, that will confume them. He is coming, whofe Reward is with him, and will give every one :iccording to his Works. Let us therefore Examine our felves, Try our felves, Prove our own felves, whether Chti!f be in us or not; if his Spiiit, his Nature, his Meeknefs, his Patience, his great Self·denial dwell in us i if not, we :ue Reprobates; yet under the Rt· proofs of the Almighty ; the Charge and Guilt of Sin; and his Witnefs in our own Confciences fends up Evidence to Heaven againft us every Day: This I juftly fear and take to be our Cafe. Let us therefore firi8:ly look into our Converfations, and with an impartial Eye take a juft View of thofe Sins, that moft fcverely cry to the G,eat Judge againft us. And they ap~ pear to me to be of Two Sorts; the one relating m .re parcicularly ro rhe Srnu, the other to the Church (if I m:1y without Offence ufe that Di!\:infii~ on) for my Witnefs is with God, I intend not Provocation to any, but the Edification of all. Thofe Impieties, that relate more particularly to the State to 'orrea, are DRUNKENNESS\ WHOREDOMS and FORNICATION, LUXURY or EXCESS, in APPAREL, in FURNITURE and in LIV· !NG; PROFUSE GAMING; and finally OATHS, BLASPHtMY and PROPHANENESS: ThefeSwarm in our Streets, rhefe are a Scandal to our Profeffion, and cry aloud to Heaven, and provoke Divine Wrath againft us. Sea. • OJ the Sin of DrNni<ennefs. DRUNKENNESS, or Excefs in Drinking, is not only a Violation of God's Law, but of our own N111ures: It doth, of all other Sins, JOb us of our Reafon, deface the Impreffions of Virtue, and extinguifh the Re~embrance of God"s Mercies and our own Duty: It firs Men for that whiCh they wou~d abhor, if fober. The Inujl, .A1urder, Robberies, Fires, and other Villames, that have been done in Drrm"k.en Firr, make Drunkennef. r a Common Er.emy to Humane Society. It renders Men ur.fit for Truft or Bujinefs; lt tells Secrets, betrays Friendthip difpofes Men to be Tre· panned and Cheated: Finally, it fpoils Health, ~eakens Humane Race, and ~~ 28(s1 ' 2'S above all provoker the ]11jl God to .A.ngrr, who cried thus of Old again!t: ~, 60:7• · 3' 4' thote that were guilty of it; Wo tD tbe Drunkards of F.phr:~im! the Dmnkards of EphraimjhalJ be trodden under feet: they bave erred through Wine, anJ VoL. I. An Addrefs to 'Protejlanu. tJltd through Srrong Drink are OJ1f of the fV. • b,fVe erred th1ougb Strong Drink the ayV fihe Pneft and tbt Prophet ment. Again, Wo unto them th~t 01~ 5tl' b 1 IOJ they flumble rn ]udgjlrengrb to nung!e !hong Dnnk. Wo unto:£ ty to rmk Wme, and Men ~J mg, that they may foliow {hong drink. l em that rife upear'l. m the Alorn .. mjlnme tbem. and tbr Harp, and the Vi~/ :~z: T."£mue untzl }ught, till Wme are tn therr Fea}ls. but they re ard ' t e 0 ret nnd tbe P1pe, nnd JVme confider the Operat1~ns of hu Han~s !J.7.t ~e '%,ork of the Lord, tmtber and opened her .ldo11tb wubout M if; Jtrt Dte t!J hath enlarged ber Je!J' tude, mid t!Jerr Pomp, and he that ::j;re, anjhd ~lhderr Glor.y and tlmr lt1u!n~ Yer, you Will bear rnewJtne& I dj yces, a eJeend rnro11. !J13ny in tbts N:mon, and thof~ noto:f~h~rfngche _prefent f!umour of too u IS too often the Begmmng and T.'f' f h . oReft QJ.lalny, m faytng, that mon Diverfion and Eutertawment. 0 1 omit hJI fi ~undfh,p It is their Corn• land could be matntain'd by their Excefs g ~ 1 a ely fay, the Poor of Eng_ven Men Plenty for fuch Ends, Or w· 1 . hath the God of Heaven gt• worldly Talent give them Peace in thtl ~his k}"Jd of Improvement. of the1r ihould do this without Shame e ay 0 . udgment> Butthat People rnented; for 'tis not only Palar~ n~y, AGlor~ In lt too, is greatly to bela~ Conqueft ex cues not a few. as ·f ~t ppetM.e, hut an unnatural Vamty of Man's Reafon, and to degrade hi'.n ~0 ~~reBe .~rer of Trrumpb to drown a ~ Part !. s.a 2. Let us hear, upon the whole Ma e h ap. them by the \.Vrfe Man. Wbo bath w~t~r,w~o e Sentence pronounced againft ProT. 23· Ver~ ttons; who harb Babbtmg 2 tJJho hath w; d hari Sorrow; who hotb Cant en- 29, 30, 3 ,1 nefs of Eye.r? They tbar to,ry long t obn wrvu ou£ Cart{e 2 uho hnth Red .. 3-2133• Wme Look not thou upon the \V a t e tne, t ey tbnt go to feek rnixt Cclour rn the Cup, when 11 moveth il;?elfhe~ rt ts Red, wben If giveth hu Serpent, and flrngetb ltke mz Add Tb anght; at the lfl.fltt buerb ltke " and tbm~ Heart !hall utter perve,}; Tbm ~l,le Eyes fball behold jlrange WomCA, Here JS much of the Mr. h.ef f 'l · Excefs and W:mtonnefs 0 / ~h~ Dr~n.f'rdnke;nef.r in a ~ittle, and of the come near ours when the ver T ft· ar · ut alas 1 dtd ever any Age are hberally dr~nk of at manl Taab) my of the feveral Sorts of Wine (th:~t nte Head~ But that fuch Exce!Tcs n es 1~ bnou~h to dtllemper :~ Tempe· ment~, whtle the Backs of the p tou e en ured by Chnfiian Governmlferably pinch"d with Hunger is0~{ aft almoit NJ~ed, and their Be11ies ces to Pol1cy :IS thofe (I fear) rno as gre:tt a hame to our Pre ten· that we were' fit to receive that~~ unwlrr£nthJbly makefto Religton. 0! :Jtot Drunk wuh Wme h aven y x ortauon o the Apoftle Be (which God knows is :n~ck;~~. /H Excifs; hilt be filled Wtth the sPmt in Lampoont nor Ohfiene S011gs ~ha: ego~s o£) {Pf,alu)ng to your felves (not llndfprrttJJal Songs, jingmg find maRmxc~ ~ J , ut m Pfizlms, and Hymn~ grvmg Tbankt nlwoys for all Thm 'g e 0 YIn your Heart to the Lord, of our LorJ ]t}its Cbrift. 'gS umo God ani the Ftl/btrt m tbe Nam~ Sea. ~· Of the Sin of Whoredom and Fornication. THofE t hnee ~ctl cry·i ng. s·m l·S t h at of Whoredom Jnd Fornication. From one mofi Unchafl :~J:~ft~eopld ubder H~~~en, I fear, we nre become one of the reven d h' fi l ln an a out L.QTldon. The French h:~ve fufficiently mongf{us tofm ~·~~s uti-on uskby the loofe Manners they have brought ::t~ to the·r c' . w 1 t IS rna es a gre:Jt Part. But I muft needs fay eries 1wh.redn, but our Re~roach, th~y keep their Wits in their Debauch: Wba' . ~lft we, by O\'er-d~mg them, 10 the Imitation of them, Iofe both. Grav~/s ando~f ~~ t~c An~Icnt Education of the Kingdnm ~ O~r Inr.egriry, Wold~. . a Joo ~ w}uch gave.our Men fo great Reputanon m the fin/ c/,;s It n~ turnd mto Swenrmg and Drinking, Fidlingand Danci,g and th:i/b':r. aC .~elband a11Wencb.? Their Propbantnifs mutt pafs for \Vir; ".J e rd;IJ' e ca ed Polu:y. z z z z 2. ll•r Secl. r |