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far follow the appetite, as a sign directing your reason what is best, and take nothing ultimately to please it, but by pleasing it to preserve the health or vigour of your bodies for God's service; thus you may do, and yet be self-denying for this is not a sensual serving of our flesh. But if you will, 1. Take that which reason tells you is unhealthful in quality. 2. Or that which reason tells you is either hurtful, but needless and unprofitable in the quantity. 3. Or have mastered your reason so far by your appetite, that you will not believe that is hurtful or needless which you love, but judge what is good for you, merely by your appetite, as a beast. 4. Or if you make the pleasing of your appetite your chief end, in any meat or drink that you take; all this is bestiality, sensuality, carnality, gulosity, and contrary to true moderation and self-denial.

Live therefore like men, and not like beasts; like Christians, and not like atheists and epicures: he hath as base a god as most of the vilest heathen idolaters, that makes his belly his god. He that cannot deny himself a delicious cup or morsel, would ill deny himself a kingdom if it were made the bait of sin. He that will not displease his appetite in so small a matter, would hardly leave his estate, or liberty, or life, if he were put to it, either to sin, or leave them. As he is a faithful servant to God indeed, that will not displease him in the smallest matter, so he is most fully obedient to the flesh, that cannot deny it the least thing that it desireth. Though I know that the smallness of the matter doth often so relax the cautelousness of the godly, that they venture on a small thing, who would not on a greater: yet even with them it is some aggravation of the sin, that they cannot bear so small a matter as the displeasing of their appetites in such a trifle: and that they cannot deny themselves, where they may do it at so cheap a rate; and that they have the hearts to displease God, and wrong their souls, for a cup or a morsel which their appetite hath a mind to. He sets little by heaven or the favour of God, that will venture it for so small a thing. It hath ofttimes abated my compassion to dying men, when I have known that their death was caused by a wilful obeying their appetite against the persuasion of their physician; and be the person never so dear to me, I feel that there is a somewhat in nature that inclineth us to consent to the sufferings of the

wilful, or abateth our pity of them in their misery. It was an aggravation of Adam's sin, that a forbidden morsel could entice him to venture on the wrath of God, and the ruin of himself and his posterity. And it will be a double aggravation of your sin, if you will take the same course, and take no warning by him, or by the sinning world that hath followed him to this day, "When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eye; and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat;" Gen. iii. 6. Thus entered sin, and death by sin.

2. Another part of self-interest to be denied, is the pleasing of lustful venereous inclinations. Not only in avoiding the gross act of adultery and fornication itself, but also in avoiding the pleasing of any of the senses by lascivious actions that lead to this: especially some men that are naturally prone to lust, have need to set a work both faith and reason, and sometimes call for help from others to quench the dangerous hellish flames; for it is a sin that God hath spoken terribly against, and that so often that intimateth man's proneness to it, and expresseth God's detestation of it. And seldom doth Paul rebuke it, but he reckoneth up the several kinds, that he may make it odious, and none may escape. "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, &c. of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God;" Gal. v. 19. The sins which he would not have the Ephesians name, are, "Fornication and all uncleanness, neither filthiness nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient; because no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God;" Eph. v. 3-5. So" Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness which is idolatry; for which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience;" Col. iii. 5, 6. "Be not deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, &c. shall inherit the kingdom of God;" 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10. "The law is made for whoremongers, for them that

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defile themselves with mankind," &c. 1 Tim. i. 10. "Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge;" Heb. xiii. 4. Read also, 1 Cor. v. 11. Matt. xv. 19. Heb. xii. 16. 1 Thess. iv. 3. Rom. i. 28, 29, &c. 1 Cor. vi. 13, 18. and x. 8. "These filthy dreamers defile the flesh," &c. Jude 7, 8. But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness-Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin;" 2 Pet. ii. 10. 14. Abhor therefore this filthy damnable sin, which God abhorreth. And to that end please not the flesh by any beginning of it, or any thing that savoureth of it, or makes way to it. Chambering and wantonness are mentioned by the apostle among the fulfilling of the fleshly lusts; Rom. xiii. 13, 14. The allurements of the lusts of the flesh and wantonness was the course of the wretched apostates, 2 Cor. xii. 21. Mark vii. 22. And Christ himself hath told you, that "he that looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery already in his heart;" Matt. v. 28. Suffer not therefore your eye to entice your hearts, by gazing on beauty or any alluring objects; touch them not, come not near them without necessity. The fire of lust doth need no blowing up; but in some it needeth all that ever they can do to quench it. Fly therefore from the temptations and occasions, if you would escape; cast not yourselves upon opportunities of sinning; let temptations have as little advantage as you can. A weak Christian may walk more evenly that flieth from temptations, and keeps at a distance from that which would ensnare him, than a strong Christian that suffers the bait to be near him. David's woeful experience could tell you, what it is to give way to a wandering, lustful eye, when Joseph's resolution may tell you what an advantage it is, to fly away and not to stand a parley with temptations. As ever you would escape this sin, this horrible soul-destroying sin, keep off from all opportunities of committing it, and live not with temptations near you: especially take heed that you suffer not an unclean spirit to possess your minds; but cast out the first impure thoughts with abhorrency. 0 the daily filthiness that lodgeth in the thoughts and imaginations of some men! They can scarce look on a woman of any comeliness, but they have presently some filthy thought. If they attempted actual uncleanness, a chaste person may easily reject them with detestation; but in this

secret way of heart-filthiness, they will commit fornication with whom they please, and as many as they please, and as often as they please; but the ruin and sin are only their own. As you love the favour of God, the credit of the Gospel, and the peace and salvation of your own souls, deny yourselves not only the lust of uncleanness, but of unchaste behaviour, and wanton dalliance, and the filthiness of your thoughts. For how unfit is that mind to converse with God, and to be employed in holy ordinances, that cometh but newly from thinking of filthiness, and feeding on lust!

CHAPTER XX.

Wanton Discourse, Songs, &c. to be Denied.

3. ANOTHER part of self-interest or sensuality to be denied, is, the use of wanton, filthy discourse, and of wanton books, and songs, and ballads, commonly called love-songs. As these are the fruits of vain minds that do invent them, so do they breed and feed the like vanity in others. Indeed they are the devil's psalms and liturgy, in which he is served with mirth and jollity, by persons of corrupt and sensual minds. They that will not be at the pains to learn a catechism, will learn a wanton song or ballad, which one would think should be as hardly learned. When we desire them to learn any thing that is necessary to their salvation, they tell us that they are no scholars, and they have weak memories, and they cannot learn. But they can learn an idle tale, or a filthy song, though they are no scholars, and though their memories be weak. Their weak memories are strong enough to keep any thing that is naught; like a riddle that will not hold the corn, but it will hold the straws and rubbish ; or like a sieve that will not hold the milk, but it will hold the hairs and filth. And so much greater is this sin than many others, because it is studied for, and laboured for, and therefore is committed purposely, resolvedly, and with delight, and not as some other sins which men are tempted to by sudden passions or surprisal! What abundance of children are sent to school to the devil, and must bestow many days and hours in learning their lessons; and when

they have learned them, he must hear them say them over,

usually more than once a day! shops or fields, they are at it,

As they are at work in their either by wanton songs, or

ribald, filthy talk: yea, they be not ashamed to sing them as they go about the streets: mark this, you that are the servants of Christ! Will you evermore be ashamed of your Master, or of his holy service? will you be ashamed to confess him in the open streets, or to be heard at prayer, or reading, or singing the praise of God in your houses; when the devil's servants are trained up in their very childhood to sing his psalms in the open streets, and publicly to serve him without fear or shame? May not a man conjecture by their education, what trade they are intended for? They that serve an apprenticeship to a trade, are sure intended to live upon it. One would think by the talk and the songs of many of our children in the streets, that the parents had bound them apprentices to a brothel-house, and intended that their trade should be fornication, whoredom, and all uncleanness! why else do they learn the art of talking of it, but in order to the art of practising it? Sure I am, they are the apprentices of satan: and a doleful case it is to think on; that as the Turks do take the children of Christians, and breed them up to be their army of janizaries, to fight against Christians, as their stoutest soldiers, when they come to age; so the devil and their own parents do take the children that in baptism were dedicated once to Christ, and listed under his command, and they teach men to fight against Christ, by cursing, and railing, and swearing, and mocking at godliness, and by bawdy songs and ribaldry. Christ telleth us that "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh;" and therefore they cannot in reason blame us, if we judge of their hearts by their tongues for though the tongue be too often better than the heart, it is seldom worse. And surely if many of our wretched neighbours may be judged of by this rule of Christ, we must needs conclude that they have lustful, filthy adulterous hearts; what else can we think of them when their discourse and songs are filthy, but that their hearts are filthy? Christ hath warranted us to conclude, that rotten speeches come from the abundance ofa rotten heart. Young people, I beseech you regard your credit, if you regard not your salvation. Will you openly proclaim in the ears of

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