affected with these representations and if there be any thing of evil in them how readily is it imbibed or if not imbibed yet excused if not totally excused yet qualified and construed as a thing of no great hurt and thus its dreadfulness abates and it 's afterwards left out in the Catalogue of errors God was either so jealous of his own glory or so render of the spiritual welfare of the Israelites that he would not suffer them to take the names of the Heathen Gods in their mouths nor suffer them familiarly to mention them for fear their frequent naming of them should lessen their awful apprehensions of the supream Deity or they be tempted through that familiarity to think there was no great harm in worshipping of them this was no ceremonial precept nor judicial The substance is moral and consequently cannot be supposed to be abolish'd by the death of Christ and since God would not permit it to the Jews how should he be supposed to give leave to Christians of whom he requires greater strictness to be lavish in such expressions How in our modern Plays in most prayers wishes and imprecations the Heathen Deities are brought in I need not tell you The Actors indeed swear by God in the singular number but in their entire Harangues or witty sentences or expressions which they intend shall move most the Gods are call'd in and that 's the grace of thier part if it be said that this is done out of a reverential respect to the true God who is too great to be mention'd in such trival speeches it 's a marvellous thing they are not afraid to swear by him and to take his name in vain and though they mince their Oaths sometimes yet that doth not excuse the crime as long as it shews their willingness to act it but the truth is such men seek to turn Religion again into Paganism so the style they use in their respective speeches about things above is fitted for that purpose I know that it 's commonly alledged that the stories which are Acted relate to transactions among the Gentiles and that it would be incongruous to represent their actions and not to mention their Deities or to speak in their language but not to mention that there is no necessity of representing passages of this nature there being as noble things among Christians that deserve remembrance why cannot the vertues of Pagans be represented without mentioning their Gods or the sins and extravagancies of their Gods whereby corrupted nature is so easily debaucht into a mean opinion of the great Soveraign Being and tempted to believe the powers above either subject to the same infirmities that we are or at least not much displeased with our irregularities here below He that makes bold with false Gods does very easily slide into contempt of the true and while men are brought in to dare the supposed Deities above they 'l be more ready to affront him that is the same yesterday today and forever Nor will it follow because Books that treat of Heathen Gods may be read that therefore those Deities may be Acted and mentioned on the Stage for there is a great difference between reading of a thing and seeing it acted with all the vanity and boldness that usually attends it In reading a mans serious thoughts are not dispersed or scattered but keep within the compass of modesty and weigh things in the ballance of reason whereas being Acted to the life they naturally strike vanity into the mind affect the sensual part drive away seriousness and leave an unhappy tincture behind them And if it be against the Divine law familiarly to mention or talk of these fictitious Deities it cannot be very agreeable to the sense of it for Christians to go and hear that idle talk for as in other concerns the receiver is as bad as the thief so he that with delight hears that which another is forbid to speak makes himself accessory to his sin and draws needless guilt upon his Soul Flatter not your self Sir with a fancy that these Plays are no where forbid in the Bible and that therefore it may be lawful to see them for the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Revelling I mentioned before and to which the Apostle threatens exclusion from the Kingdom of Heaven Gal. 5.21 and from which the word Comedy in all probability is derived though I know others fetch it from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a village because in ancient times they did sing Songs about Country Towns I say this word includes all such vain lascivious Ludicrous and Jocular representations not only Dancing and luxurious Feashing but wanton light and amorous Interludes and all that belongs to the pampering and satisfying of the Flesh such as amorous Songs Complementing of Mistresses Love-tricks and immodest parts and speeches which make the vainer sort of the company merry for the word is very comprehensive and being so one would think should fright every serious person from coming within the guilt of that which hath so severe a threatning annex'd to it And is it worth losing Heaven and eternal happiness for the sight of such jocular Shows Are the pleasures arising from hence of that consequence that they will counterballance so great a loss Had you rather forfeit Gods savour then these ludicrous transactions Are these momentary satisfactions of that value that you would run the hazard of being for ever deprived of the beatifick vision for them That usual exception that God will not be so cruel as to condemn Men for such harmless sports is of no weight at all for God hath no where declared that he will govern himself by Mens fancies but his eternal wisdom is the rule he 'l go by if men will have their pleasures he hath thought fit to forbid they must thank themselves if they go without his favour and since they were warned of this danger they can have no excuse but are as the Apostle speaks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 condemn'd of themselves Tit. 3.11 Let 's but consider the Nature scope and drift of our Religion it commands us decency modesty sobriety vigilancy or watchfulness over our thoughts and words and actions simplicity in the inward and outward man redeeming the time employing the hours God hath lent us in profitable discourses and things useful and tending to edification It bids us abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul it condemns all Rioting chambering wantonness and making provision for the Flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof It commands us to walk after the Spirit to be heavenly minded to have the same mind and temeper in us which was also in Christ Jesus to grow in grace to advance in goodness to grow strong in the Lord and in the power of his might it bids us stand up for the glory of our God and to be concern'd when his Name or Religion or things Sacred are abused it bids us avoid Scandal and take heed we do
go out in a snuff and himself the object of Gods wrath and indignation and that makes him impart this sad memento to the Man who hath Blood and Youth and Strength enough to be vain and foolish Rejoyce O young Man in thy Youth and let thy Heart cheer thee in the days of thy Youth c. By way of Explication I must take notice of these few things 1. That the words young Man and Youth in Scripture especially in this Book are not only meant of that time we commonly allow to Youth which is from Ten or Fourteen to Twenty or Five and Twenty but include all that Age which is fit for action and the Hebrew words import so much being derived from a Root implying choice and election so that the time here aimed at is the chiefest time of our life or that time which any Man of sense would chuse for action 2. That those sentences which sound like exhortations are perfectly Ironical or spoke by way of derision as if we should say to a Man Go play the Fool burn thy Finger in the Candle and see what thou wilt get by it whereby we do not mean that he should do so but do rather express the silliness and simplicity of the thing to make him avoid it and such Ironical expressions or mocking exhortations are very frequent in Scripture as 1 Reg. 18.27 Cry aloud for he is asleep which is a kind of mocking the stupid Priests of Baal that called on a Stock or Stone so Jer. 49.11 Leave thy Fatherless Children and let thy Widows trust in me i. e. Ay go comfort thy self with this that I will take care of thy Fatherless Children and provide for thy Widows but thou shalt find thy self egregiously mistaken so here Rejoyce O young Man c. i. e. go play the Mad-man let thy sensual Appetite rove gratifie thy Flesh please thy besotted Heart fix thine Eyes on what Beauty thou thinkest fit sing care and reason and thy wits away and see what the Issue of all will be and so much is evident from the following words which are a bridle to all these extravagancies and the gall that embitters all these sweets and therefore the Chaldew Paraphrase justly turns these mock-exhortations into a serious Admonition walk in humility let not thine Eyes gaze upon that which is evil but be exceeding cautious and so the Septuagint walk spotless in the ways of thy Heart and not in the lust of thine Eyes 3. God brings a Man into Judgment two ways either by causing his Conscience to awake with horrour in this life and laying some other heavy affliction upon him and there is mercy in this process for this may yet lead the forlorn Soul to serious thoughts of repentance bring the pangs and throws of the New Birth upon her and deliver her into a New Creature Or where God intends a higher degree of wrath and indignation he lets the jovial sinner alone on this side Hell and the burthen shall not fall on him till he comes to look the angry Judg in the Face at which time as the Surprize will be greater so the horrour and anguish of mind which will seize on the sinner will like Nebuchadnezzars Furnace prove seven times hotter than ordinary upon which follows eternal despair and endless howling and gnashing of Teeth The result of all is this Proposition That the prospect of a future Judgment is enough to embitter all the sensual and carnal delights of Men particularly of young Men and to bring a damp upon the most Youthful and most jovial temper imaginable Not only the sense of the Text I have already laid down imports so much but there is this farther in it that the wise Man seems to couch his argument plainly thus do but take a view of that dreadful Judgment God is resolved to bring thy guilty Soul to and thou wilt not dare to indulge thy self in the mad rejoycings of thy Youth nor walk in the ways and after the fancies of thy corrupted Heart nor suffer thy wanton Eyes to fix on those objects from which God hath bid thee turn thy Face away You know the story of the Young Gallant who riding by a lonely Hermits Cell and finding the solitary Man very devout and fervent in Prayer and looking with a severe and mortified countenance called to him Father Father what a fool are you to debar your self of the charming refreshments and pleasures of this life and live here immured within Walls of Mud and Clay What if there should be no other World to what purpose is all this rigour and mortification The Hermit heard him and replyed Ay but Friend What if there should be one Where are you then What a Fool will you be then How will you wish that you had been in my condition The youngster startled at these words went home left his Women and his Swine his Lusts and dry Husks of bruitish delights and like the Prodigal became another Man The truth is we have seen this prospect of a future judgment have very strange effects upon a Man who was not apt to be frighted with sad Prognostications and that was Felix a Person who had drunk as deep of the stolen Waters of sensuality as any Man then living for he lay in the embraces of Drusilla who was another Mans Wife and enjoy'd that Beauty which his lustful appetite desired without lett or controul yet behold when St. Paul reasoned of temperance righteousness and judgment to come the Text saith Felix trembled The Sermon awakened the notions of Divine justice that were engraven on the Tables of his Heart made him uneasie put him into consternation and for the present forced him to loath the Bed where his abomination was wrought We are told of a custom in some Kingdom that the night before a Condemned Malefactor is to die a very shrill Trumpet sounds before the Prison Door which is a certain sign that he is to die next day and before whose Door soever the fatal Trumpet sounds over night no Prayers no Tears whatever condition he is of or whatever Figure he makes in the World can save him from being Executed It happen'd in process of time that the King who had made this Law after he had streamed out a considerable part of his life in extravagant actions on a sudden became serious was often seen to retire into his Closet gave strict order for extermination of all vices and though before he had doated on Mirth and Jests and sensual Satisfactions yet these were now all abandon'd and turn'd into a scene of gravity and sobriety such an alteration we must think must be a very strange surprize to Courtiers who impatient of this change and supposing it to be a fit of Melancholy took the freedom to ask him what the reason of this Reformation was The Kings Brother especially none of the most Religious sought often to divert him tempting him to see Shows and Plays and Women
for I left him for a Lust and undervalued him for Trifles I pleaded I could not withstand the Charms the World offered to me Mad Man I could withstand them now why could not I have withstood them then I might have considered of this place and of this state and of these vexations and check'd my self O that I were but to live again in the World O that God would but try me again How would I scorn the very thoughts of Mirth and raillery How would I run away from the very mention of these Impostures Break my heart Break If God will not kill thee call upon the infernal Spirits and see what they will do But Oh they delight in these groans Themselves lie under the same Condemnation banish'd from the gracious presence of God! They would die as well as I if they were able O what a torment is it I see the everlasting Joys before me and cannot reach them They are over my Head and I cannot come near them Paradise I see but cannot enter into it I knock my Head I smite my Breast I stamp with my Feet but am never the better That Jesus on whose Blood I trampled I see rejoicing with his followers at the Right hand of God and not a drop of comfort drops from his Lips on mine I feel Flames within which no Waters can quench a drop of Water would be some refreshment and give me some hopes of ease but here is none All the Rivers of Consolation are dried up to me I walk in darkness I see no light O God tear the Heavens and come down Canst thou hear these shrieks and be unconcern'd Canst thou see this poor Creature lie in torments and give no relief Hast thou no mercy left O then my state is desperate I shall not be able to refrain from Blasphemy For I see none can help but thou and thou wilt not I rave I am distracted with fear I tremble I quake stand off Devils I have Furies enough within Ye damned Pleasures whither have you brought me Ye have made me lose the favour of him who alone is able to give me ease I might have been happy if it had not been for you I might have escaped these Regions of anguish if you had not tempted me But why do I accuse you This brutish Heart of mine was in the fault my devilish Lust hurried me into ruine I had reason and would not use it means of Grace and would not apply them offers of Mercy and would not accept of them O all ye that pass by behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow which is done unto me wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the Day of his fierce anger from above he hath sent a Fire into my Bones and it prevails against them he hath spread a Net for my feet he hath turned me back he hath made me desolate and faint all the Day the Yoak of my transgressions is bound by his hand they are wreath'd and come up upon my Neck he hath made my strength to fall the Lord hath deliver'd me into their hands from whom I am not able to rise up All this certainly appears in the prospect of that future Judgment and consequently is enough to check and damp the greatest Jollities on this side Hell and though it 's true that it doth not cause the least disturbance in thousands of men that drink of these stolen Waters for men in this Age are as jovial as ever and a judgment to come frights them no more than a House on fire a Thousand Miles off but sure this is for want of taking the proper way and method which God and Reason doth prescribe and what that way and method is shall be shewn in the following Paragraph 3. How the prospect of that future Judgment must be managed that it may actually damp and put a stop to these carnal delights This is to be done no other way but 1. By thinking reflecting and ruminating upon that future Judgment This stands to Reason for except things be made visible to us how shall they move or fright us This future Judgment being out of sight and afar off it must be brought near and set before us and there is no way to do it but by thinking Our thoughts are the Picture-Drawers which make the Landskip of that judgment so lively that our faculties can not but be signally affected with it These are the Divine part within us which can make things past and future as present and summon the remotest Objects to become familiar and palpable These are the Glasses in which all that God hath said or promised and threatned becomes visible and with the help of these we may make that substance which seemed but Air before and condense that into solid Notions which to a carnal Man seemed but Fancy and Wind before These can make us in a manner grasp and feel that which was out of our reach before and make us concern'd about things which we neither see nor hear nor feel with our grosser Organs These can transplant the other World into this and make Eternity appear before us though we live in Tabernacles of Clay to prove this we need only appeal to experience Behold those pious Souls that take a course contrary to that of the World what makes them afraid of sinning What makes them afraid of running with their Neighbours into Riot What makes them that they dare not do what some of their carnal acquaintance and Relations do What makes them mourn What makes them rejoice in Spirit You see nothing that they have reason to mourn for They have a competency they want nothing in the World they have necessaries and conveniencies and they prosper in their lawful undertakings and under some of their greatest afflictions you see nothing that should make them cheerful no outward cause of their joy but rather all that is about them is an invitation to sorrow and dejection Why They are invisible things that make them mourn and rejoice and by thinking of them they make them visible and so visible that they are affected with them as much as other men are with Objects that incur into their Senses by thinking they see the Terrours of the Lord and the Affronts they have offered to the Divine Majesty and the wounds they have given to their own Souls and that makes them weep by thinking they see the Glory that is set before them and the recompence which is promised them and the right and title they have to it and that makes their Souls rejoice so then by thinking this future Judgement may be seen and if it be seen in in any lively colours there is no sinner so stout no Man so perverse no creature so dull and stupid but it will startle him and put Wormwood into his Cup. When I eat or drink or whatever I do the last Trump sounds in mine Ears and I think I hear the terrible Voice
power of his might resisting temptations growing in grace labouring after a greater hatred of sin a greater fortaste of Heaven a greater conformity to the will of God a greater sense of the love of God c. and he that in good earnest minds these things will have no great desire to busie himself about such pittiful trivial and impertinent things these will be trash and dirt to him and his soul will soar above them and scorn them as the Divels lime-twigs whereby he lies in wait to deceive And though I will not deny but that a man in case of danger and when his life is in jeopardy or when he would pass through a party of his enemies may lawfully disguise himself and by art change and alter his countenance that he may not be known and though a man who hath lately had the small Pox or hath been Sun-burnt or whose face hath been parch'd with Wind may lawfully take care by ordinary helps to reduce his face to his former or native colour and complexion and though we do not judge it against the law of God to hide some great blemish or defect in the Face whereby spectators may be offended and particularly Women that are with Child frighted and though it is not inconsistent with the rule of the Gospel to wash the Face when dirty yet all those paints and additional washes and artificial black spots whereby Men and Women endeavour either to set off their complexion the better to give themselves a more pleasing colour or to mend their meen or to make themselves look more beautiful or to attract the eyes and admiration and sometimes the unlawful Amours of those they converse withal are things which a Christian must be a stranger too When I say men it is not without reason for we read of such a beast as Paul the Second Pope of Rome who whenever he went abroad painted himself that the beauty of his Face might in some measure be answerable to the comeliness of his stature which was procere and tall and it 's to be feared that this effeminacy dwells in too many persons of the masculine Sex at this day However as Women are usually more faulty this way then Men so they give us but small hopes to believe that they are heirs of Heaven while they are so industrious to please men and others here on Earth St. Paul would not please Men no not in the Ceremonies of the Law which were things formerly commanded by God thinking it unworthy of a Christian that had been freed from that Yoke by the Son of God and how unworthy must it be then to please Men in things which God hath never commanded nay by many hints and places discover'd his dislike of How justly may God look upon 't as presumption to alter that Face which he thought fit to create in that shape it is of and what is it but contending with our Maker and expostulating with the Potter Why hast thou made me thus and controuling his art and wisdom while not content with the countenance he hath given we seek to appear in a better As we are Christians sincerity must be our character not only in heart but in the outward behaviour and what sincerity can there be in cheating Men with our Faces and to make them believe that to be natural which we know is counterfeit and artificial We that are naturally prone to pride and levity and lightness of deportment had not need encourage it by such incentives and put Oyl to that fire which without great help is apt to burn into Hell We shall meet with impediments enough from the World and the Devil in our spiritual race it 's madness therefore to encrease those obstacles by new inventions of our own and we that know how apt every thing is to damp our holy fervours had not need add such vanities to extinguish them In the whole Scripture we read of no Women that ever painted themselves but one that was cursed to a Proverb even Jezabel 2 Kings 9. 33. and Eusebius makes mention of a great instrument of the Devil whereby he sowed heresies in the Church that used this trade viz. Maximilla Even among the Heathen those that did so were none of the best fame and credit in the World such as Poppaea Nero's Wife and others and in Holy writ for the most part this delight is described as meretricious and a quality of Strumpets and Harlots as we see Ezech. 23.40 And certainly neither these examples nor descriptions can be any great inticement to a Christian to imitate such infamous patterns who is to remember those who have spoken to him in the name of the Lord and to follow their faith considering the end of their conversation Heb. 13.7 It was an excellent Character St. Gregory Nazianzene gave of the pious Gorgonia No Gold saith he adorned her Temples no flaxen hair no borrowed locks no artificial curles flew about her sacred Head no flowing Mantles no transparent Vails no looser garb hat wanton'd in the Air no costly stones vying with the brightness of the Stars no Painters arts help'd to grace her noble frame no operator assisted her to countermine the work of God in her and by deceitful colours to hide the curious fabrick of her Face or to prostitute the Divine shape that was in her to wanton and impurer eyes or to vitiate her natural image which was reserved for God and another World by an adulterous fictitious beauty But even then when she was acquainted with all the tricks and modes of ornaments she would acknowledge and own none but whather piety and the harmony of her soul did give her No other Red pleased her but what her modest blushes caused no white but what fasting and abstinence brought into her cheeks and as for Painting and modish looks and borrow'd Beauty she left those impertinencies and vanities to actors and Ministers of the Stage persons who have forgot to blush and are ashamed of nothing so much as of sobriety and gravity This is an example for all Christian Women to write Copies by and though the age we live in hath long ago learned to despise this self-denial as a starcht formality and precise niceness yet that doth not make it of less value before Almighty God who sees with other eyes and is resolved to rectifie these willful mistakes if other means here on Earth will not do it with Eâ—eâ—â—al Vengeance To this purpose St. Cyprian Art not thou afraid vain Woman who makest use of Paint and Washes and such other curious fooleries about thy Face art not thou afraid that thy Creator when thou comest before him will not know thee but exclude thee rather from the promised Inheritance May not he reasonably use the language of a Censor and a Judge and say This is not my Creature here I see nothing of my Image Thou hast polluted thy skin with false applications the hair I gave thee is changed
Seraphim and Cherubim such a Perspicuity of sight do Tears give to a Holy Soul That which made these great Men weep so much was either a Sense of their own and other mens Offences or a lively Prospect of the Love of God or a glorious fore-sight of the Joys above But worldly Sorrow is no Virtue and he that weeps much either because he cannot have those Conveniences he would have or is cross'd and disappointed in his Designs or because he hath lost such a great Mans Favour or because some other Loss befalls him weeps in vain nay sins by his weeping and his Sin if he continue impenitent brings on Death 2 Cor. 7.10 Floods of Tears upon a mere temporal Account are insignificant in Heaven and no more than Water spilt upon the Ground such Tears God doth not put into his Bottle nor have the blessed Angels any Charge to number the drops that fall but where Religion and a mighty Sense of God and Tenderness of his Honour and Glory causes Rivers of Tears and where the Soul hath so delicate a Taste that it cannot think of God without weeping nor speak of him without weeping nor reflect upon his Goodness without weeping there the Man is come up to a Perfection which is the very Suburbs of Heaven It 's true all People cannot weep nor are they therefore in a damnable Condition for they may be sincere in Goodness and yet not be able to express their Sincerity in Tears tho I am apt to believe that it is for want of refining the Soul into a high Relish of Divine Objects that puts a stop to these sacred Floods in most Men yet where they can weep and something they see in God or in the Word of God or in the Providences of God is the true Cause of those Tears every drop is richer than a Diamond and such a Soul may vye Happiness with the greatest Monarchs They are inestimable Treasures and though Man knows not how to value them yet the Spirits above esteem them at a mighty rate and magnifie them in Gods Presence Luke 15.10 It 's a huge Mistake that Men cannot rejoyce except they laugh there are Tears of Joy as well as Tears of Grief and the very Heathen saw that true Joy was a very serious thing Hence it was that they confined true Joy to their Philosophers and left the louder Laughter to Slaves and Carters and Ploughmen and how often have I seen the richest Joys bubble forth from the largest Tears Nor would Men in those Circumstances change Condition with the most potent Prince in the World such Content such Satisfaction such Riches such Wealth appears in these Tears which Religion forces How much better is it to be afflicted where our Porsperity and a good Conscience are inconsistent than to enjoy Kingdoms and Principalities without the light of Gods Countenance This was the excellent choice of Moses and of all the Martyrs of old who were content to be sawn asunder to be stoned to be tormented to wander about in Caves and Dens weeping and destitute rather than defile their Souls with Sin which puts me in mind of the good Advice St. Jerom gave to his Friend Heliodorus Did the Babe thy Grandchild saith he hang about thy Neck should thy Mother that bare thee bid thee look upon the Breasts thou hast sucked should thine own Father lie prostrate at thy Feet and entreat thee to spare thy self and to forbear venturing on the Strictness and Severities of Religion get away from them my Friend and with dry Eyes fly unto the Banner of Christ Jesus in this case to be cruel is the greatest Piety This was the Case of the Primitive Believers who preferred their Distresses before Nero's Chair of State and took greater Pleasure in their seemingly forlorn Condition than Claudius or Caligula in their Affluence In the midst of their Tears they were greater men than their Persecutors and though they wanted all things and their Enemies had all that Heart could wish yet they justly believed themselves happier in their Funeral Dress than the other in their Triumphs The Man that roars in a Tavern or sings in an Ale-house or rejoyces in his Sin had more need to wish that his head were water and his eyes a Fountain of Tears were he in his Wits he would do so But his Reason is distorted his Understanding darkned his Eyes blinded his Mind unhing'd his Desires perverted his Affections led astray and like a distracted Creature he rejoyces in his Nakedness Ah brutish and inconsiderate Soul Thou weepest to see a Child or a near Relation dye and canst thou see thy Soul die and be robb'd of that Goodness which must give her Life and be unconcerned Thou weepest at the loss of a thousand Pounds and canst thou remember how thou losest God's Favour and all Right and Interest in the Merits of a crucified Saviour and keep thine Eyes dry Thou weepest to see a Friend drowning or burning in a merciless Fire and canst thou think how thou flingest thy self into the Furnace of God's Wrath makest his Anger kindle and wax hot against thee and dost what thou canst to turn it into a Fire which no Man no Angel can quench and will no Tears flow into thine Eyes How barbarous how inhumane is thy Joy What doest thou rejoyce in That Sin which makes thee merry that Folly that cheers thy Spirit what is it but Ingratitude to thy kindest Benefactor What is it but requiting the greatest Good with the greatest Evil What is it but contempt of him who keeps thy Soul in Life What is it but bidding defiance to him who carries thee on his Wings and out-does the tenderness of a Mother the care of a Father and doth all that 's fitting to guard thy Soul from Ruine And are these fit things to rejoyce in Are these fit Objects for thy Mirth Are these Divertisements for a Creature that holds his very Being of God and is beholding to him for all the Blessings he enjoys What wonder if after all this Impiety and Stubborness God rejoyces too rejoyces in thy Groans rejoyces in thy Anguish rejoyces in thy Agonies rejoyces in thy Sense of his Justice rejoyces in thy Howlings This he must do at last to secure his Honour This he will be obliged to do in the end to vindicate the Veracity of his Threatings This he will be constrained to do after all that Devils may not mock his Holiness nor deride his Thunders nor upbraid him with Partiality At that time this will appear very good Divinity no Fable no Romance no Trade of Priests no Invention of Politicians no old Wifes Tale no idle Story and if thou could'st exhaust the Sea in that day and weep it out again to testifie thy unfeigned Sorrow thou would'st do it Happy the Soul that thinks of this Happy the Man that believes these Terrors before he feels them How much wiser are those tender Hearts that do little else but weep and
Prince that Epaminondas being content with such a Dinner is not easily to be drawn by Bribes into a base and trayterous Action Fabritius the Roman General having concluded a Peace with the Samnites the Magistrates of the Samnites by way of Gratitude send six Ambassadours to him with vast Sums of Money begging of him to accept of it but he stroaking his Head and Face and Breast and Knees Gentlemen saith he while I can command these Limbs I have no need of Money and so dismissed them Curius gave the same Answer to them adding that he had rather rule over Persons that had Money than be possess'd of Money himself These Men were Heathens whose Delight in Virtue drown'd their Delight in these outward Comforts They saw what an Impediment to Goodness these Heaps of Silver were and therefore scorn'd to delight in a thing so base and trivial they were sensible that the Soul had her Riches as well as the Body and as the former by the Confession of Mankind went beyond the other in value so it was reasonable they should delight in the one more than in the other These Men were better Christians by the Light of Nature than thousands among us are with all the helps that Revelation and Grace affords not that the Fault lies in the means which are larger and richer than Pagans and Infidels have but that men stupifie their Souls more under these Advantages than Heathens did under the lesser Irradiations of the Divine Light and Splendour So then the very Heathens saw that the more spiritual the Delight was the nobler it was and the more it was refin'd and purified from the Dross of the World the more rational it was and therefore more amiable and fitter to be embraced and sure God must have provided but very ill for Mankind when he embued and impregnated their Souls with a Sense of Religion if he had not put something into Religion that 's charming and lovely whereby their Souls might be attracted to delight in it Religion being derived from him who is the Fountain of Delight and Satisfaction must necessarily have that in it which may make humane Souls rejoyce and exalt their Delight into a victorious Supremacy above all worldly Pleasures What did the Lord Jesus delight in who lived upon Alms What did the Apostles delight in who were in much Patience in Afflictions in Necessities and Distresses in Stripes in Imprisonments in tossings to and fro in Labours in Watchings in Fastings What did all the Primitive Believers delight in that were poor and naked driven into Exile banish'd forced to work in Mines chased away from the Comforts of Wife Children and Relations Something certainly they delighted in for humane Nature cannot well subsist without delight in something It could not be the Riches of this World for they had them not nor indeed did they care for them when they were offered them it was Religion that engrossed their Delight This made them joyful in all Condiditions this raised their drooping Spirits under the Rage of their Persecutors and certainly it would be hard if a glorious God with all his Attributes and the wonderful things he hath revealed to our Comfort were improper Objects of Delight and since these are the genuine Delights of a Christian O besotted Soul why dost thou delight in broken Cisterns when thou hast the Fountain of living Waters to delight in Why dost thou delight in Apes and Peacocks when thou hast the Creator of all these to rejoyce in Why dost thou delight in a morsel of Meat when thou hast the Birth-right of eternal Glory to delight in Why dost thou delight in the shade of the Bramble when thou hast the shadow of God's Wings to delight in Why dost thou delight in the nether Springs when thou hast the upper Springs of Mercy to delight in Why dost thou delight in Houses when thou hast a House made without Hands to delight in Why dost thou delight in the Rivers of Damascus when thou hast the River of God's Pleasure to delight in Why dost thou delight in a fading Beauty when thou hast him that 's altogether lovely to delight in Why dost thou delight in the Voice of a deceitful Siren when thou hast him whose Voice comforts the Mourners of Sion to delight in Why dost thou delight in the Slavery of thy Lusts when thou hast him whose Service is perfect Freedom to delight in Why dost thou delight in a little Gain in Drops of Happiness in Crums of Bliss in shining Dust when thou hast a Sea of Glory to delight in How deep must thy Soul lye immerst in Body if such illustrious Objects cannot delight it How far must thou be yet from the Kingdom of Heaven if things of this nature cannot content thee How earthly must thy Heart be how debauch'd how perverted from the end of its Creation if these spiritual Delights are insipid to it There are some here I believe who have tasted of both Delights the sinful ones of the Flesh and those which are proper for holy Souls tell me I beseech you whether you think a Fit of Laughter or a drunken Bout or a merry Meeting you once delighted in so sweet so comfortable so refreshing as the gentle and soft and kinder Influences of God's Spirit when you have been engaged in Prayer and Praises and Contemplations of a future State When you have been wrestling with God and after that work of Love have felt a holy assurance of God's Favour upon your Spirits can any thing be more pleasing or charming than those divine Communications When you have entred into Meditation of God's Goodness and the Love of God hath shined bright upon your Souls have not you felt that which hath been as much beyond all sensual Delights as an oriental Pearl is beyond Brass or Copper or such baser Minerals Have not you found a Joy stealing upon your Souls after such refreshing Considerations as hath transported you even into love of Martyrdom How contented have you been after such Exercises or after some signal Self-denial How harmonious have your Spirits and Affections been after such Enjoyments of God's loving Kindness and how like soft and curious Musick have these Gales of the Divine Goodness composed your troubled Thoughts and hush'd them into a lasting Peace And is not this infinitely better than the Pleasures of Sardanapalus of Dives and other luxurious men Will not this turn to better account at last than fleshly Lusts which war against the Soul Look upon Heliogabalus who tryed how great a Monster a man could make himself in his Cloaths you should see nothing but Gold and Purple his Beds were embroidered and the Feathers that were in them must be the softer Feathers of Partridges taken from under their Wings mix'd with the finest Rabbets hair He would ride in a Chariot shining with Rubies and Diamonds and not only in the out-side of his Shooes but even within he would have precious Stones he would not