of nature under a proper discipline, and guard all the avenues of the
soul. Secure your senses without, and your fancy within, as much as
possible, from all allurements of this kind. Let us remember that sin
often begins in the imagination, and therefore we must establish a
strict guard upon our roving thoughts, and reduce them when they first
begin to go astray. We must lay a strong chain of restraint upon those
endless wanderers; for our Saviour himself tells us, Out of the heart
proceed adulteries and fornications, which defile the man; Mat. xv. 19.
We must make a self-denying covenant with our eyes, that we may not look
upon temptation, lest we be led astray from the paths of purity. Our
blessed Lord himself gives us a sufficient caution, when he explains the
seventh commandment; Mat. v. 28. _I say unto you that whosoever looketh
on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already
in his heart._ When our Saviour forbids a wanton look, he requires that
we put a veil upon our eyes, lest like wandering stars or foolish fires
they betray us into foul and miry pits of pollution, or lead us to deep
and dangerous pollutions.
Avoid all impure representations, pictures, and images: Turn your eyes
from immodest sights, and your ears from polluted language, whether it
be in discourse, or writing, a lewd jest, or a wanton song. Let them not
entertain you, though they may be attended and adorned with never so
many colours of wit, and charms of music. Romances and novels, and
invented stories of forbidden love, have painted over these impurities
with shining eloquence, and awakened the same foolish passions in the
reader. O how unhappily has the art of verse, which was first
consecrated to the service of the temple, been prostituted to the vilest
purposes, to give gay colours to temptation, and gild over the foulest
images of iniquity! And what a multitude of souls may date the
commencement of their guilt and ruin from the time when they began to
frequent the poisonous entertainments of the stage! Their ears which
were shocked at first with some of the coarse and foul expressions of
modern comedy, by degrees are hardened to bear the most offensive
language: Their modesty and blushing dies and vanishes by degrees, till
at last they learn to relish the grossest pollutions of the theatre, and
perhaps put the fable into practice.
As faith and salvation come by hearing, so iniquity and everlasting
death come sometimes by hearing too. And what we would not hear, surely
we should not speak. Let us then set a guard upon our tongues, lest they
border upon forbidden language. _No filthiness, no foolish talking, no
corrupt communication must proceed out of our mouths_; Eph. iv. 29. and
v. 4. We should not affect those speeches of a double meaning, which
lead the thoughts away to lewd and wanton conceits, and make foul
impressions upon the mind. Let your ears hate to be treated with such
indecencies, nor let our lips dare to treat others so.
2. Do not make too rich provisions for the feeding of the flesh; indulge
not yourselves on the delicacies of the taste, nor in the luxury of
excessive sleep: Both of these may incline animal nature to licentious
desires: Stand afar off from gluttony and excess of wine, nor pamper the
body beyond the just support, and due refreshment of nature. The holy
apostle in his prohibitions, couples “chambering and wantonness with
rioting and drunken practice;” Rom. xiii. 13. and calls them all works
of darkness. It is a good remark of Kempis, a devout papist in former
days, “Bridle the appetites of the palate, get a sovereignty over them,
and you will be better able to master every other appetite.”
3. Always employ yourselves in something innocent and useful, that may
engage the powers of the body, or the mind, or both, that so temptation
may never find you idle. The springs of the sin of Sodom were _fulness
of bread, and abundance of idleness_; therefore they grew _haughty, and
committed abomination before the Lord_; Ezek. xvi. 49, 50. This is an
advice of Jerome, one of the christian fathers. Be still doing some
work, that the devil, when he comes to tempt, may always find thee busy.
Where you are in danger of these sins, put yourselves upon a necessity
of diligence all the day, that you may have no time nor room for wild
imaginations nor impure indulgences.
4. Avoid the seasons, the places, and the objects of temptation, as far
as it is consistent with the necessary duties of life: For he that hath
no caution about him, and is not afraid of being tempted, he is not
acquainted with human weakness, nor is he so much afraid of sin as he
ought to be.
5. Maintain an everlasting and awful sense of the presence of God thy
Maker, thy Governor, and thy Judge. Remember the Lord beholds the secret
workings of the heart, and the foul practices of darkness and midnight.
There is not a place where the eye of God cannot come. What an
honourable character hath young Joseph acquired in the word of God, and
his name stands recorded with renown in divine history through all ages,
for his flight from the allurements of an immodest woman: The guard
which he continually placed upon his virtue, was the all-seeing eye of
heaven. “How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” Gen.
xxxix. 9.
6. Get those scriptures written in your hearts, and ready at all times
in your memories, which may be the most effectual antidotes and
preservatives against all forbidden pleasure. This was the ancient
practise of the saints. Ps. cxix. 11. “Thy word have I hid in my heart,
that I might not sin against thee.” The word of God is the sword of the
Spirit, to put to flight, and to slay whole armies of iniquity.
7. Fly daily to the mercy-seat for divine aid: Commit thy soul and body
to the keeping of Christ; he is exalted and authorized to take care of
sinners, who make him their refuge: he is also compassionate and ready
to succour the tempted. There is cleansing virtue in the blood of Christ
to wash away the foulest guilt, and to sprinkle the conscience of the
humble penitent with peace and pardon: and there is all-sufficient power
and grace with him to subdue the most raging vices. Make haste to him by
humble faith, and most importunate prayer: Continue instant at the
throne: Never rest till he hath by his providence and his grace
delivered you from the dangerous temptation, or made you conqueror over
the sin that easily besets you. There are a thousand souls in heaven,
who were once conflicting here with the same impure temptations, but
they gained the victory by the blood and Spirit of Christ, and are made
more than conquerors through him who hath loved them.
I fear I have trespassed upon my hearers, in dwelling thus long on this
dangerous theme. It is time to retire, and end my discourse. Those who
have a mind to be better furnished with weapons and divine armour
against these enemies of purity and virtue, I would recommend to them
three books, where they may find abundant provision: And these are Mr.
Ostervald’s Treatise of Uncleanness, Mr. Henry’s Four Discourses against
immorality, and Mr. Baxter’s Christian Directory, tome 1 chap. 8. part
5. And may the holy and pure Spirit, who attended at the baptism of our
Saviour in the form of a dove, which is an emblem of chastity, may he
give these waters of the sanctuary a divine efficacy to purify the souls
of polluted sinners, and to guard the innocent and the tempted from
these dangerous pollutions!
HYMN FOR SERMON XXVII.
_Christian Morality_, _viz._ _Chastity._
The lord, how great his majesty,
How pure are all his ways,
Sinners unclean offend his eyes,
Nor stand before his face.
Thou hast ordain’d immortal woes,
And everlasting fire,
To be the just reward of those
Who follow loose desire.
I hear, I read the dreadful doom
Of Sodom; in thy word;
And dares a feeble worm presume
Thus to provoke the Lord?
Dear Saviour, guard me by thy grace,
From thoughts and words unclean,
Nor let temptation gain success
To draw my soul to sin.
SERMON XXVIII.
_Christian Morality_, _viz._ _a Lovely Carriage_, &c.
PHILIP. iv. 8.—Whatsoever things are lovely——think on these things.
Οσα προσφιλη, &c.
Man was a lovely creature in his first formation and innocence, however
he has been debased and dishonoured by the fall. Now there is nothing in
all the religion of Christ but what tends to restore man to the
excellencies of his original state, or to exalt him above them, and to
render him all over amiable. To this end truth and sincerity are
recommended to him in the gospel, with a venerable decency in all his
conduct. To this end he is required to practise justice to his
neighbour, and to keep himself pure and chaste from all the vices of
sensuality. Thus far we have proceeded in improving the text. And the
man who has attained thus far, has many lovely qualities belonging to
him, such as lay a foundation for a good report, and deserve our
praises.
Yet there are many things in human conversation, which do not directly
fall under the commands of truth and gravity, justice and purity: These
the apostle recommends to the Philippians, under the following
characters, _viz._ things that are lovely, that are of good report,
deeds of virtue, and worthy of praise.
The things that are lovely, are such as look well among men, and have a
good appearance in the eyes of the world: Those things that gain the
love of our fellow-creatures: Not merely such religious practices, as
make us beloved by fellow-christians, but such a temper and conduct as
commands the esteem and respect even of the ungodly, and those that
profess not strict religion. This ought to be the carriage of the saints
of the Most High, they should practise those things that are grateful
and pleasing to human nature, so far as innocence allows: those things
that may recommend our conversation to our neighbours, and procure the
love of all men. Is it not a very desirable thing to have it said of any
particular christian, all that know him love him; he hath no enemies but
those that are unacquainted with him, unless it be such as hate him upon
the same ground as the devil doth, and that is because of his piety and
goodness? But to explain this more fully, and impress it with more power
upon every one of our consciences, I will descend to particular
instances of a lovely carriage. And here I shall mention but these few,
_viz._ prudence, moderation, humility, meekness, patience, and love.
I. Prudence is a lovely quality. This teaches us to speak every word,
and perform every action of life at a proper time, in the proper place,
and toward the proper person. It is prudence that distinguishes our
various behaviour toward our fellow-creatures, according to their
different ranks and degrees among mankind, or the different relations in
which we stand to them. It is a very desirable excellency to know when
it is proper to speak, and when it is best to keep silence; at what
seasons, and in what company we should awaken our zeal, and exert our
active powers; or when we should hide ourselves, or put a bridle upon
our lips, and sit still, and hear.
Prudence is of infinite use in all the affairs of life and religion: Nor
is there any hour of the day, nor any place wherein we spend that hour,
whether alone or in public, but gives occasion for some exercise of this
virtue. It does not belong to human nature to possess this in
perfection: Perfect prudence dwells with God alone, God the most lovely
of beings: He that comes nearest to it, is the wisest of men, and he
gains the love and high esteem of all that are near him; for his conduct
in life is of singular advantage to those that converse with him, as
well as to himself. This man is consulted by his friends as an earthly
oracle, and by his advice he saves many from ruin. Thus he wins and
wears their honour and their love.
There are many good qualities both of the natural and moral kind that
must meet together, to make up a prudent man. He must be furnished with
a memory of things past, and with just and proper observations made upon
them, that he may know how to improve every opportunity and occurrence
of life to the best purposes when the same occasions return. There is no
prudence without some degrees of experience. But experience alone is not
sufficient; he should have also a wide extent of soul, and be able to
take a large and comprehensive survey of the concurrent circumstances of
things present: And he must be blessed with a solid judgment, that by
putting many things at once into the balance, he may find which
outweighs the rest, and determine his present conduct thereby. He must
have a degree of sagacity, to foresee future events, according to the
usual consequences of things in this mortal state. The prudent man
foresees the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are
punished; Prov. xxii. 3. that is, They suffer for their want of prudence
and foresight. And besides all these, he should be a man of firm and
steady resolution to go through difficulties, and to put in practice
what his judgment has determined.
Rash and ungoverned passions are great enemies of this virtue. Both
these push a man onward to a hasty and irregular conduct. His lips
multiply folly, and his hands practise it through the impatience of his
spirit. His unguarded talk, and precipitant actions plunge himself into
snares, and sometimes involve his acquaintance in the same mischief.
There are other characters also inconsistent with prudence, such as an
unthinking and an unsteady temper. The thoughtless person lives at a
venture, walks always at random, and seems to aim at nothing. He enjoys
the present hour indeed, talking and acting according to the mere
appearances of things. He is content with a slight sudden view of any
thing without recollection or forethought; and in a most literal sense
takes no thought for the morrow. The fickle and inconstant man, he may
aim at something indeed, and have honest designs in his head, but is
ever changing the means to attain them, and pursues nothing with that
steadiness that prudence requires, or that the necessity of human
affairs demands of every man that would be wise and happy. Such men may
be pitied as weak and silly, but they are seldom esteemed, or much
beloved in the world, while prudence is so much wanting.
There is no necessity that I should cite special parts of the word of
God, to encourage us to seek this most amiable quality, since the
recommendations of true wisdom, both human and divine, are scattered up
and down through all the sacred writings: And the Spirit of God has
given us one or two books on purpose to teach us prudence; these are
Ecclesiastes and the Proverbs of Solomon. Nor can I propose any better
direction to gain universal wisdom, that to read the book of Proverbs
often with diligence and humble prayer.
II. Moderation is another lovely quality. It teaches us to maintain a
medium between those wild extremes, into which human nature is ready to
run upon every occasion.
When a warm and imprudent talker adorns some common character with
excessive praises, and carries it up to the stars; the moderate man puts
in a cautious word, and thinks it is sufficient to raise it half so
high. Or when he hears a vast and unreasonable load of accusation and
infamy thrown upon some lesser mistakes in life, the moderate man puts
in a soft word of excuse, lightens the burden of reproach, and relieves
the good name of the sufferer from being pressed to death. When he sees
oppression and violence practised among his neighbours, the justice of
his soul directs him to take the part of the injured person, and his own
moderation and goodness inclines him to do it in such a manner, as may
calm and suppress the resentment of the oppressed, and soften and melt
the oppressor into compliance with the rules of justice. Thus he
reconciles them both, without giving offence to either.
When any sects of christians seem to be carried away with the furious
torrent of some prevailing notions, or some unnecessary practices, some
special superstition, or a contentious spirit, the moderate man tries to
shew how much of truth and goodness may be found amongst each party,
where all agree to hold Christ Jesus the head; though he dares not
renounce a grain of truth or necessary duty, for the sake of peace, and
he would contend earnestly, where providence calls him, for the
essential articles of faith which were once delivered to the saints; for
he knows the wisdom that is from above is first pure, and then
peaceable; James iii. 17. Yet he takes this occasion to prove that some
truths or some practices, are articles of less importance to the
christian life; that they are not worthy of such unchristian quarrels;
and thus he attempts, as far as possible, to reconcile the angry
disputers. Sometimes he has the happiness to shew them both that they
fight in the dark; he explains their opinions and their contests, and
puts the best sense upon both of them: And when he hath brought them
into the light, he makes it appear that they are friends and brethren;
and that religion and the gospel are safe on both sides, if they would
dwell together without fighting, but that it is sorely endangered by
their battles. So St. Paul dealt with the Jewish and gentile christians,
and assured them that they both belonged to the kingdom of God, and the
church of Christ, though they quarrelled about flesh, and herbs, and
holy-days. How lovely, how glorious, how desirable is such a character
as this!
I confess when a party-spirit runs high among the different sects of
religion, or the different divisions of mankind, this most amiable
virtue is called by the scandalous names of indifferency, and
lukewarmness, and trimming; and it sustains a world of reproaches from
both the quarrelling parties. Moderation, though it is the blessed
principle, which awakens and assists men to become peace-makers, yet at
the same time when it enters into the battle to divide the contenders,
it receives an unkind stroke from either side. This the reconciler
expects, and he bears it for the sake of union and love.
The moderate man in cases of private property or interest, does not
insist upon the utmost of his own right with a stiff and unyielding
obstinacy, but abates of his just pretensions for the sake of peace; and
what he practises himself, he persuades others to practise in the like
contests. This is that moderation and gentleness, which the great
apostle recommends a few verses before my text. Phil. iv. 5. _Let your
moderation be known unto all men._ And our blessed Lord himself gives
the moderate man this illustrious encomium, blessed are the meek, who
submit rather than quarrel, for they shall inherit the earth. _Blessed
are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children of God_;
Mat. v. 5-9. Happy souls whom the God of truth, and the God of peace,
acknowledges for his children, and to whom he promises a large
inheritance!
And let it be observed also, that whatsoever hard usage the sons of
peace may meet with, while the ferment of parties is hottest, and the
storm is high, yet when the clamour and rage are sunk and calm, when the
party-fury hath spent itself, and is grown cool enough to suffer men to
bethink themselves, and to see all things in their true colours, then
the man of moderation stands approved of men as well as of God; the
divine virtue appears in its own lovely form, and receives a becoming
share of honour.
III. Humility is a lovely virtue. It is beautiful and becoming for a man
to divest himself of all affected grandeur, and not to exalt his head
above his neighbour. O that we were all clothed with humility! It is an
ornament that becomes sinners well. Let us put it on with our daily
raiment, and strive to vie with each other which shall practise this
grace in the greatest perfection.
How unlovely a carriage is it to boast ourselves of any superior quality
we possess, or to assume lofty airs, because we have more money than our
neighbours! To aggrandize ourselves in our own esteem, in our own
language, in our behaviour, because we fancy ourselves to be better
dressed, or better fed than our fellow-creatures! And if we have a
little honour put upon us by the providence of God, it is a criminal
vanity for us to grow haughty and insolent upon that account. I am in
pain whensoever I hear a man treat his servant as he does his dog: as
though a poor man were not made of the same clay, nor born of the same
ancient race as his master: As though Adam, whose name is dust, was not
our common father, or a lord had not the same original as other men.
Nay, the nobler possessions of the mind, ingenuity and learning, and
even grace itself, are no sufficient ground for pride. It is a comely
thing to see a man exalted by many divine gifts, and yet abasing
himself. It is a lovely sight to behold a person well adorned with
virtue and merit, and glorified in the mouths of all men, and yet
concealing himself: To see a man of shining worth drawing, as it were, a
curtain before himself, that the world might not see him, while the
world do what they can to do him justice, and draw aside the veil to
make his merit visible. Not that a man of worth is always bound to
practise concealment; this would be to rob mankind of the blessing God
has designed for them, and to wrap up his talents, in the unprofitable
napkin. But there are occasions wherein a worthy and illustrious person
may be equally useful to the world, and yet withdraw himself from public
applause. This is the hour to make his humility appear.
How graceful and engaging is it in persons of title and quality to stoop
to those that are of a mean degree, to converse freely at proper seasons
with those that are poor and despicable in the world, to give them leave
to offer their humble requests, or sometimes to debate a point of
importance with them: Not all the dignity of their raiment can render
them half so honourable as this condescension does; for nothing makes
them so much like God. The High and Holy One, who inhabits eternity,
stoops down from heaven to visit the afflicted, and to dwell with the
poor. And surely, when we set ourselves before the divine Majesty, we
are meaner and more contemptible in his eyes, than it is possible for
any fellow-creature to be in ours; he humbles himself to behold princes.
It must be allowed indeed, that where God and the world have placed any
person in a superior station, and given him a sensible advancement above
his fellow-creatures, he is not bound to renounce the honours that are
his due, nor to act beneath the dignity of his character and state. This
would be to confound all the beautiful order of things in the natural,
civil, and religious life. But there are cases and seasons that often
occur, when great degrees of humility may be practised without danger of
sinking one’s own character, or doing a dishonour to our station in the
world. There is an art of maintaining state with an air of modesty, nor
is there any need to put on haughty and scornful airs, in order to
secure the honours of a tribunal, or the highest offices of magistracy.
I have known a man who acted in an exalted station with so much
condescension and candour, that all men agreed to love and honour him so
far, that it was hard to say, whether he was most honoured, or most
beloved.
How amiable a behaviour is it in younger persons, when respect is paid
to age, and the honour is given to the hoary head that nature and
scripture join to require; Lev. xix. 32. “Thou shalt rise up before the
hoary head, and honour the face of the old man: and fear thy God: I am
the Lord. Though the character of the aged person, in respect of riches,
quality, and learning, may be much inferior, yet the wisdom that is
naturally supposed to be derived from long experience, lays a foundation
for this superior honour. And I look upon it as a part of the shame and
just reproach of our day, that there is such a licentious insolence
assumed by youth to treat their elders with contempt. But so much the
more lovely is the carriage of those who, in spite of evil custom, treat
old age with reverence, and abhor the pert and petulant indignities that
some of their companions cast upon the writings and counsels of their
ancestors.”