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Show • 1668. ~ N9 C R 0 S s, No C R.O W N. Vo'o l. Heaven; that refufe Him any in thelr Hearts on Earth. But let us examine Luxury in all its Parts. ' . ·'r b' dd b § II. Lux•? has many Ports, ahd t~e.firft that )S ,or l e~ 'f the Self. denying Jefus, 10 the BeUy: Tde •• Tbougbt (fays he to~" Dtfctples) Joying, What foall r»e t at, or wbar Jh,aD we Jn11R.~ - fo': after theft Tbmgf do the Gemilesferll : As if he had fa1d, The uncucumct~e~J t~e Hear ben, fuc~ as live Without the true God, and (l'l~ke ll God of th.,etr i?tllY_, whore Care is ~0 pleafe their APpetite, more than to. feek God and h1s Ki~do~ :JY9u mull not do fo; but fee II you fi•JI tb(. Kmgdom of. Go~, and b~s R1gbreou/; 'lleft and all other 'Thmgr jhnlJ be addcJ. 1 That w~ich '!t con\'ement for you, will'follow: Let every Thing have it!T\lne and Order. . . : This carries a ~ferious .Reprehenfioq to the I:ztxunous E;tter and Dnnker, who is taken uP with an exceffive Care of hts Palate and Belly, what he !hall Eat and what he fhall Drink : Who being often at a Lofs what to have nc~tJ Tb"trefirrr bas an Officer to 1WDfnt, and a COii£to lrifs, ilifguife and Jrown the Species, th~t it may. c;ea,t tb~ ~ye, __ look New and fhang~; .,"fljV 3nd all to ex.cite an Appeme, ot'ratft: a6 Adtnitatton •. ~o be fure there ts v ..,~ great Variety and that curiou~ and coftly 1 l'he Sauce, It may be, dearer than the Me4t:: And fo full js ~e fed, thjtt without it he: c~·!'! ftarc~ find oui a Stomach; which is to force an Hu~&_er, rather than to Jausfie If.- And as he· eats fo he drinks; rarely for T}J1rjt, but Pltafurt; tO·pleafe bts Palate, For that purpofe he will have divers Sorts, and he mtilt tafte them all: One, however good, is dull and tirefome, ~1ri~tf. is n;or~ del_i_ghtf~! t6an the Bell - and therefore the Whole World \S lmle enqug~ ,tO fill ~IS Cellar. Bur' were he temperate in his Propox_tions, his V:a.rierv .might be impqted rather to Curiofity, tha~ Luxury ... ·. But whar.<the J.rempetate·_ Man ufes as · a COrdial, He 'drinks by full Draughts, till, inflamed by RxcefS, fie is fitted to be an Inftrument of Mifchief, if not to others, always to him· felf· whot)l~mhays · at l~ft he knows not: For fuch llrutality ale'Jome com'e to they wil Sip themfolves out of their own Knowledge. 'll.is is the Lufi' of the Flefh, that is not of the Father, but of theY \:Vorld: FOJ UP" on this comes in the Mufick and Dance, and Mirth, and the Laoghter, which is Madnefs, that the Noife of one Pleafure rna,r dr.o~n th_e Iniquity of another, le~ his own Heart !hould deal too platnly WI'ili htm. Thus the Luxurious hve \ They/orgtt God, they regard not tb~ ~flliOeJ. 0 tbat (he Sons and Daughters o Men would 'onfider their Wnnronnefs and their lrii4uity .in thefe Things! How ill do they requite the Goodnifs of God in the Ufe and Abufe of the Plenty He yields them : How cruel are they toHis CreatUres, how lavifh of their Lives and Virtue, how Thanklefs for them ; Forsetting the Givef and abuftng the Gift by their Lulls; and defpljing Counjel, and cafling lnjlr11llion behind rbml. They lofe TeJJderneft, aod forget Duty1 being fwallowed up of Vo/uptuou/nift; adding one Excefs to another. God rebuked this Sin in the Jewz by the Prophet Amos: Tt tbar put far away the Evil Day, and caufe the &at of Vlo!enceto come nu r; ~:nd lie upon Beds of Ivory, ani! flretch themfeivu upon their Co11chts, tmd ~at the Ltmbt 0111 of the Flotk, and the Calves out of the Stall; and obant ta t6e found of the Viol, and invent to t1Jemfeivtt Inftruments of Mufick, like 1)avid; thilt £(rink Wi11e in Bow!r, and anoi11t tbemfelver with the tbitf Oint• ments: But they art not grieved for the A.ffli[/ion of JofepH,- Thefe, it feems, were the Vices of t.he degenerate Jewr, under all their Pretence to Religion; and are they not of Chriftia'ns at this Day? Yea, they arc, and thefe are the ~reat Parts of Lttxury firuck at in this Difcourfe. Rem em~ her Dives, wah all his fumptuous Fare, went to Hell : And the Apofile :pronounces heavy JVoes upon thofe whoft God is their 'Belly; for fuch glory zn their Shtrme. Chrift Places thefe Things to the Courto of Worldly Kings, not his Kingdom ; making th~m unfoemly in his Followers : His Feajl therefore (whictl was his Miracle) to the Multitude, was plain and fimple; enough, but without Curiofity, or the Art of Cookery: And it weot down well, for they ~ere lfJ'"&YJ; tbe bell and titteft time ro eat. And the Apoftle in his Di· · · JeCl:ions No. CR. 0 fi S, No C R 0 W N. ~49 reCJ'ions. t9 his rr:uch bel9v~d fimotby, d~bafes the Lo~ers of \Yorldly F11/. 1668. nefs; ~dvtfing huri r.o God(mefs n'!d Conunc, ,m the cQ~tfefl Gam: Add ing~ ~ And ;.,~jfg Fpod onrf Rappf"'• let 111 therewith be rontenr. Behold the Ab- Chap. XlV. fieroious, and rno-fi 1come'l!ed ~fe of thofe Royal Pilgrims, the Sons of 'T•m. 6.6, Heavep, and lmmo,rtal Off-fpring of the great Power of God; They wer-e 1. 8, 9, 10• in Faits a9d Perils ohen,. and eat wiJat was fer before them ; and in all Con~ ~ 1' ditio~IS learned to be bo11tn!ed • .• 0 Bleffed Meq ! 0 Bltffed .Spirits! Let my So.ul dwell with yours for.ever! , §. IlL~·~ the ,l:!i(eafe! which .Luxury beget; and nourifhes, make• it an :EnerriY to Mankin4: ~or befid~s the MifChief it brings to the Souls of People, itrfUnd~rm.ip~s ~.J~ealth, and fl)orrens th~ Life of Man, in that it gives b~~1 lfl N'qufilhrq:!J\, and fo lea¥~ and feeds Corr~pt Humours, whereby die B9ay becqmes 1~~nk and F9~l, Luy and-$$=orbuuck i ~unfit for Exercife, 4qd IJ191e for h on~q]fboqr. Th~ Spirits being thus loaded with JU F!ejh, and \1\~ ~hnd dl'~ll''Qated, a M~n lS made Unachye, and fo Uuufeful ih Civil Sqciety ;_ fqr :ldl;nef~ follo\f:; Luxu~y, -.zs.weU as Difeafes. Thefe are the Burdens of the World, D~•oqrers of good Things, Self-Lovers, and fo For~ etters of. Gv4t' 1/u.t (which is fad, and ycr iuft) the En;l ,of. thofc that forget God, is to oe . surl(eJ in~o, }teD~ 1 Pf.il. 9• 17• ·. §, IV., Buq t~Wer515 ~pother Paq of Luxury, which has great Place with vain Man and oman, and th;lt is the Gorgrqu/neJs of .Apparel, one of tbe Foolifhell, b<;ca\lfe.l"olt Coi\Lr. Empty, ~~d Onprofitable Excefs People CJ~ l"ell be guilty of. We ar~rapg!lt by the Sqiptures of .Truth to believe t'hat Siq ~roug~~ 19ie ljrft .c~at; and if confe.nt of ~riters b~ of Force, lt was as ,well WilhOUF ~~ Wl~hiTJ.: .rTQ thofe that fo believe, I .dtrea m_y Dif.. cou)'fe, b~caufe tlJFy, ~am .fure.t are th,e ~en.erality. I faf, if Sin, brought Gen. 3• 21 ~ tbe fi1fi Coat, poor Mam/s Off-fpring h,ave little Reafon to ,be proud or cu-rious In their Clothes 1 fot: it t~ems ~heir Origip~L was Bafe, and the Fine.ry of theiT,l \V!ll neith~~ rnal$:e them,_ Noble, nqr Man lnnocem again# But doubt1efs ~leii'ed w~ that Time, \Vhen lnnocenc~,. .not Ignorance, freed our £dl (»a rents from tuch Shift~: They ·"'e.re tbeti Jtaked, and knew no Shalf!e;. but ~in made th,em afhamed to }le longer ]\Tot~td. Since therefore Guilt brought Shan~e, and Shame an Apr9n and a Coat, how very low are they fall,en that Glory 1in rhtir ShtJf!Je, that are prpu4 pf their Fall? For fo they :1~e, th~t ufe Care and Coft to triO) and fet off the tery Badge and Livery of that lamenqble ' Lopfe. It is all one, as for a Man thai had loft his Nife by. a Scandalom ~tflelflper, to r-ake P.ains to fet out a falfe one, in fuch Shape a~a Splend.or, as fhould give but the gre~ter Occafion fQr all to gaze ·upon him, as if he would teU (hem, he h•d l.Qft his NPfe, for fear they fhould think he had not. But would a wife MaJl be in love with aftt!J( Noft, tho' never fo rich, and however finely made? .Surely no: And (hall People that call themfelve~ Chriftia"s, fhew fo much love for Clotbts, as to negleU 'rnncunce, their firfl Clothing? Doth it not fbew what coft of Time, Pams ah,d Money People are at, to fet off thelr Shame, with the great .. eft Shew and Solemnity of FoUy! Is it not to delight in the Elfet\ of that Caufe, which they rather foo11ld lament? If a Thief were to we<ir thains all his Life, would their being Gold, and well made, abate his Infamy? To be fure his being Choice of them would increafe it. Why, this is the very Cafe of the vain Fajhion-Mongen 9f this fhamelefS Age; yet will they fie 0JriUiam, Judger in Re6gion, Saints, what not? 0 mife~able State indeed! TQ he fo blinded by the Lujl of tb< Eye, tbe Lujl of rbe F!ejh, and Pride of Life, as to call Shame Decencb and to be curious and expen!ive about that which fhould be their Humzliation. And not only are they grown in love wi~h thefe Vanities, and thereby exprefs how wide they are from Pri .. mitive Innocence; but it;s Notorious how .many Fnjhions have been, and :u~ invented on purpofe to excite ~ufl :' Which ftill puts them at a .greater Dlllance from a fimple and harmtefs State, and enflaves their Mmds to bafe Concupifcence. · §. V. Nor is it ot~erwife with Recreations, as they call them; for thefe are nearly related. M~n was made a Noble, R~tional, Gravo Crea_m~i~ |