A Christian Directory Volume I Part 55

2. Take heed of the l.u.s.t of uncleanness, and all degrees of it, and approaches to it; especially immodest embraces and behaviour.

3. Take heed of ribald, filthy talk, and love songs, and of such incensing snares.

4. Take heed of too much sleep and idleness.

5. Take heed of taking too much delight in your riches, and lands, your buildings, and delectable conveniences.

6. Take heed lest honours, or worldly greatness, or men's applause, become your too great pleasure.

7. And lest you grow to make it your delight, to think on such things when you are alone, or talk idly of them in company with others.

8. And take heed lest the success and prosperity of your affairs do too much please you, as him, Luke xii. 20.

9. Take not up any inordinate pleasure in your children, relations, or nearest friends.

10. Take heed of a delight in vain, unprofitable, sinful company.

11. Or in fineness of apparel, to set you out to the eyes of others.

12. Take heed of a delight in romances, play-books, feigned stories, useless news, which corrupt the mind, and waste your time.

13. Take heed of a delight in any recreations which are excessive, needless, devouring time, discomposing the mind, enticing to further sin, hindering any duty, especially our delight in G.o.d. They are miserable souls that can delight themselves in no more safe or profitable things, than cards, and dice, and stage-plays, and immodest dancings.

_Direct._ III. Next to the universal remedy mentioned in the first direction, see that you have the particular remedies still at hand, which your own particular way of flesh-pleasing doth most require. And let not the love of your vanity prejudice you against a just information, but impartially consider of the disease and the remedy.

Of the particulars anon.

_Direct._ IV. Remember still that G.o.d would give you more pleasure, and not less; and that he will give you as much of the delights of sense as is truly good for you, so you will take them in their place, in subordination to your heavenly delights. And is not this to increase and multiply your pleasure? Are not health, and friends, and food, and convenient habitation, much sweeter as the fruit of the love of G.o.d, and the foretastes of everlasting mercies, and as our helps to heaven, and as the means to spiritual comfort, than of themselves alone? All your mercies are from G.o.d: he would take none from you, but sanctify them, and give you more.

_Direct._ V. See that reason keep up its authority, as the governor of sense and appet.i.te. And so take an account, whatever the appet.i.te would have, of the ends and reasons of the thing, and to what it doth conduce. Take nothing and do nothing merely because the sense or appet.i.te would have it; but because you have reason so to do, and to gratify the appet.i.te. Else you will deal as brutes, if reason be laid by (in human acts).

_Direct._ VI. Go to the grave, and see there the end of fleshly pleasure, and what is all that it will do for you at the last. One would think it should cure the mad desire of plenty and pleasure, to see where all our wealth, and mirth, and sport, and pleasure must be buried at last.

_Direct._ VII. Lastly, be still sensible that flesh is the grand enemy of your souls, and flesh-pleasing the greatest hinderance of your salvation. The devil's enmity and the world's are both but subordinate to this of the flesh: for its pleasure is the end, and the world's and Satan's temptations are both but the means to attain it. Besides the malignity opened before, consider,

[Sidenote: The enmity of the flesh.]

1. How contrary a voluptuous life is to the blessed example of our Lord, and of his servant Paul, and all the apostles! Paul tamed his body and brought it into subjection, lest, having preached to others, himself should be a cast-away, 1 Cor. ix. 27. And all that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and l.u.s.ts thereof, Gal. v. 24. This was signified in the ancient manner of baptizing, (and so is still by baptism itself,) when they went over head in the water and then rose out of it, to signify that they were dead and buried with Christ, Rom. vi. 3, 4, and rose with him to newness of life. This is called our being "baptized into his death;"

and seems the plain sense of 1 Cor. xv. 29, of being "baptized for the dead;" that is, "for dead" to show that we are dead to the world, and must die in the world, but shall rise again to the kingdom of Christ, both of grace and glory.

2. Sensuality showeth that there is no true belief of the life to come, and proveth, so far as it prevaileth, the absence of all grace.

3. It is a homebred, continual traitor to the soul; a continual tempter, and nurse of all sin; the great withdrawer of the heart from G.o.d; and the common cause of apostasy itself: it still fighteth against the Spirit, Gal. v. 17; and is seeking advantage from all our liberties, Gal. v. 13; 2 Pet. ii. 10.

4. It turneth all our outward mercies into sin, and strengtheneth itself against G.o.d by his own benefits.

5. It is the great cause of our afflictions; for G.o.d will not spare that idol which is set up against him: flesh rebelleth, and flesh shall suffer.

6. And when it hath brought affliction, it is most impatient under it, and maketh it seem intolerable. A flesh-pleaser thinks he is undone, when affliction depriveth him of his pleasure.

7. Lastly, it exceedingly unfitteth men for death; for then flesh must be cast into the dust, and all its pleasure be at an end. Oh doleful day to those that had their good things here, and their portion in this life! when all is gone that ever they valued and sought; and all the true felicity lost, which they brutishly contemned! If you would joyfully then bear the dissolution and ruin of your flesh, oh master it, and mortify it now. Seek not the ease and pleasure of a little walking, breathing clay, when you should be seeking and foretasting the everlasting pleasure. Here lieth your danger and your work. Strive more against your own flesh, than against all your enemies in earth and h.e.l.l: if you be saved from this, you are saved from them all. Christ suffered in the flesh, to tell you that it is not pampering, but suffering, that your flesh must expect, if you will reign with him.

FOOTNOTES:

[137] I must profess that the nature and wonderful difference of the G.o.dly and unG.o.dly, and their conversation in the world, are perpetual, visible evidences in my eyes, of the truth of the holy Scriptures.

1. That there should be so universal and implacable a hatred against the G.o.dly in the common sort of unrenewed men, in all ages and nations of the earth, when these men deserve so well of them, and do them no wrong; is a visible proof of Adam's fall, and the need of a Saviour and a Sanctifier.

2. That all those who are seriously christians, should be so far renewed, and recovered from the common corruption, as their heavenly minds and lives, and their wonderful difference from other men showeth, this is a visible proof that christianity is of G.o.d.

3. That G.o.d doth so plainly show a particular special providence in the converting and confirming souls, by differencing grace, and work on the soul, as the sanctified feel, doth show that indeed the work is his.

4. That G.o.d doth so plainly grant many of his servants' prayers, by special providences, doth prove his owning them and his promises.

5. That G.o.d suffereth his servants in all times and places ordinarily to suffer so much for his love and service, from the world and flesh, doth show that there is a judgment, and rewards and punishments hereafter. Or else our highest duty would be our greatest loss; and then how should his government of men be just?

6. That the renewed nature (which maketh men better, and therefore is of G.o.d) doth wholly look at the life to come, and lead us to it, and live upon it, this showeth that such a life there is; or else this would be delusory and vain, and goodness itself would be a deceit.

7. When it is undeniable that _de facto esse_, the world is not governed without the hopes and fears of another life; almost all nations among the heathens believing it, (and showing, by their very worshipping their dead heroes as G.o.ds, that they believed that their souls did live,) and even the wicked generally being restrained by those hopes and fears in themselves. And also that, _de posse_, it is not possible the world should be governed agreeably to man's rational nature, without the hopes and fears of another life; but men would be worse than beasts, and all villanies would be the allowed practice of the world. (As every man may feel in himself what he were like to be and do, if he had no such restraint.) And there being no doctrine or life comparable to christianity, in their tendency to the life to come. All these are visible standing evidences, a.s.sisted so much by common sense and reason, and still apparent to all, that they leave infidelity without excuse; and are ever at hand to help our faith, and resist temptations to unbelief.

8. And if the world had not a beginning according to the Scriptures, 1. We should have found monuments of antiquity above six thousand years old. 2. Arts and sciences would have come to more perfection, and printing, guns, &c. not have been of so late invention. 3. And so much of America and other parts of the world would not have been yet uninhabited, unplanted, or undiscovered.

Of atheism I have spoken before in the Introduction; and nature so clearly revealeth a G.o.d, that I take it as almost needless to say much of it to sober men.

[138] Neque enim potest Deus qui summa veritas et bonitas est, humanum genus, prolem suam decipere. Marsil. Ficin. de. Rel. Chris. c. 1.

[139] Pietas fundamentum est omnium virtutum. Cic. pro Plan.

[140] Zenophon reporteth Cyrus as saying, If all my familiars were endued with piety to G.o.d, they would do less evil to one another, and to me. Lib. viii.

[141] Pietate adversus Deos sublata, fides etiam, et societas humani generis, et una excellentissima virtus just.i.tia, tollatur necesse est.

Cic. de Nat. Deo. 4.

[142] See my book called "A Saint or a Brute."

[143] Exod. vii. 13, 14; 2 Kings xvii. 14; 2 Chron. x.x.xvi. 13; Neh.

ix. 16, 17, 29; Isa. lxiii. 17; Dan. v. 20; Mark vi. 52; viii. 17; iii. 5; John xii. 40; Acts xix. 9; Prov. xxviii. 14; xxix. 1; Matt.

xix. 8; Mark xvi. 14; Rom. ii. 5.

[144] Non tamen ideo beatus est, quia patienter miser est. August de Civit. l. 14. c. 25.

[145] Lento gradu ad vindictam sui divina procedit ira: tarditatemque supplicii gravitate compensat. Valerius Max. de Dionys. 1. 1. c. 2.

[146] Feriemini, moriemini, sentietis: an caeci autem an videntes, id in vestra manu est. Optate igitur bene mori (quod ipsum nisi bene vixeritis frustra est). Optate, inquam, nitimini, et quod in vobis est facile: reliquum illi committ.i.te; qui vos in hanc vitam ultro non vocatos intulit; egressuris, non nisi vocatus et rogatus manum dabit.

Non mori autem nolite optare. Petrarch. Dial. 107. 1. 2.

[147] Multi Christum osculantur; pauci amant: aliud est f??e??, aliud ?ataf??e??. Abr. Bucholtzer in Scultet. cur. p. 15. Dic.u.n.t Stoici sapientes esse sinceros, observateque et cavere sollicite nequid de se melius quam sit commendare putemus fuco seu arte aliqua mala occultante, et bona quae insunt apparere faciente, ac circ.u.mcidere vocis omnem ficionem. Laert. in Zenone. Philosophia res adeo difficilis est, ut tam vel simulare magna sit pars philosophiae. Paul Scalig. It was one of the Roman laws of the 12 Tables, "Impius ne audeto placere donis iram Deorum." "Let no unG.o.dly person dare to go about to appease the displeasure of the G.o.ds by gifts:" viz. He must appease them first by reformation. Bona conscientia prodire vult et conspici; ipsas nequitia tenebras timet. Senec.

[148] When Petrarch, in vita sua, speaketh of others extolling his eloquence, he addeth his own neglect of it, Ego modo bene vixissem, qualiter dixissem parvi facerem. Ventosa gloria est, de solo verborum splendore famam quaerere. Conscientiam potius quam famam attende. Falli saepe poterit fama: conscientia nunquam. Senec.