brutish part of the World said there was But while he tried Experiments upon the Viper the Beast flew into his Face and poyson'd the Empirick He went on in these slippery ways and walk'd on this Sea of Glass a considerable time spread the Sails of his sensual Desires and bid his carnal Mind ask and crave whatever it could fancy and if either Love or Money or Force could procure it it should have it He hugg'd all the little shooting flames he met with and kissed every thing that had the name and reputation of Mirth â—â—d Jollity But see the sad Catastrophe and woful turn of that pleasant Wheel when he thought himself in Paradise he found himself in Hell and that which tickled his Senses at the first proved after some time his greatest torment and vexation Providence can be silent for a time but at last the sleeping Lion wakes and roars so that all the Beasts of the Field do tremble and Solomon on whose Head the Candle of the Lord had shined so long found that Light at last go out in a Snuff and himself the Object of Gods wrath and indignation he found by sad experience what it was to abuse the Wisdom God had bestowed upon him how dangerous the Paths were he had walked in what it was to pervert the End and Design of the Gifts of God and what darkness and confusion it brought upon Men 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 chear 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 most vigorous 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 2 Cor. 12. 13. For what is it wherein you were inferior to other Churches except it be that I my self was not burdensom to you Forgive me this wrong i. e. If I did wrong you in doing so it was a very pleasant Wrong or Injustice for which you have more reason to thank me than to be angry with me 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 Chaldee 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 horror 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 horror and anguish of Mind which will seize on the Sinner will like Nebuchandnezzar's 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 Hermit's 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 Rigor and Mortification The Hermit heard him smiled and replied 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 brutish 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
tears with so much love and light about him might justly enjoyn reformation of the whole man and a transformation of the mind and temper of the Soul and require a conformity to his own Life and insist upon mens becoming patient and humble and charitable and contented and peaceable and watchful over their Thoughts and Words and Actions and heavenly-minded How could this Grace which appeared to all men challenge less than Self-denial and Contempt of the World and living in the thoughts and expectation of a better Life and seeking earnestly for glory and honour and immortality And as he that will be the Judge in that Day is the Lawgiver too so he understands best the meaning of his Laws nor will Tricks and Evasions and false Constructions of those Laws signifie any thing before him who will not depart from the sense his eternal Wisdom put upon them and which by his Prophets and Ministers he once caused to be proclaim'd in the Ears of men The Sinner in that Day will not have to do with Deputies and Lieutenants and Delegates who too often make the Law a Nose of Wax and can turn and interpret it to what sense they please and their Interest dictates are sometimes unskilful and apt to mistake the Law of their Superiors and these Laws not being of their own making are the colder or the more remiss in executing them but here men shall see the Law-giver himself who will not be put off with Pretexts and Pretences as ordinarily Deputies and such Persons are as are employ'd by the Supreme Law-givers in a Commonwealth or Kingdom Even here on Earth where the Law-givers themselves sit Judges the Malefactor must expect severer dealings in this case even Lycurgu's Wife shall not escape that durst break her Husband's Law against riding in a Chariot during the time of Divine Service and Zaleucus his Son must lose his Eye for slighting his Father's Order against Adulterers not to mention the Severities of Manlius Torquatus Epaminondas Tenes c. on their own Children where the Legislators have sat Judges of their Crimes and Errors The Almighty Judge in that Day will justly resent the Affront done to his Laws He hath Reason to resent it greater Reason than any Potentate in the world hath to take it ill that their Laws are set light by Gods Law being holy and perfect and infallible and under an impossibility of Errour and a Mercy it is a wonderful Mercy that he vouchsases to give such a Law to the Children of men and a greater Mercy yet that his Son came into the world to publish it and so many thousand Messengers besides are sent to declare it so that in this affront Mercy and Goodness as well as Justice and Sovereignty and Power are wronged and abused and as all Perfections in God are infinite so whatever injury is offered to any of them it receives a deeper Dye and greater aggravations from the Infinity of those Attributes God who is omniscient sees the virulent nature of this Affront and indeed none is better able to declare the heinousness of such contempt than he and this must necessarily encrease the Terror of that Day And as he is the Law-giver against whose Precepts the Sinner hath offended so he is the Party offended too Sinner This is he whose Body and Blood thou hast so often receiv'd unworthily in the Sacrament this is he to whose Cross thou hast been an Enemy so many years on whose Merits thou hast trampled whom thou hast so often crucified afresh whose Temple thou hast defiled whose House thou hast dishonoured whose Gospel thou hast been ashamed of and therefore wonder not if such thundring Queries come forth from the Throne at last dost not thou remember how oft thou hast broke thro' the Guards and Fences I have set betwixt thee and Sin How couldst thou find in thy heart to afflict and grieve me so often who have endured such Agonies already on the Cross Why wouldst thou forsake me the Fountain of Living Waters How is it that thou wast not afraid to make thy Belly thy Gold thy Harlot and such a great Man thy God Did ever any Person oblige thee more than I Didst thou ever receive such Favours at any mans hand as thou hast received at mine And why could not I have thy Heart and thy Will and Affections Why must a sottish Lust and Passion engross thy Desires and my Law be cast behind thee If ever Law-giver had reason to be offended this Judge in the last Day hath for his Commandments were not grievous his Yoke was easie and his Burthen light all that was required was Love and it 's hard if so small a Tribute for his ineffable and incomprehensible Mercies must not be paid him It s true this Love must extend and branch it self into various Acts of Meekness and Patience and Humility c. But still where Love is the Principle none of all the other things which are required can seem tedious or difficult Nor is this all for the same Judge will be Witness against the Sinner too Indeed no Creature can be so true a Witness against him as the Judge himself There are many Sins no Creature ever saw but he and therefore who so fit a witness against those crimes as he I will come near to you to Judgment and I will be a swift Witness against the Sorcerers and against the Adulterers and against the false Swearers and against those that oppress the Hireling in his wages the Widow and the Fatherless and that turn aside the Stranger from his Right and fear not me saith the Lord of Hosts Mal. 3. 5. This Judge sees all nor will the Sinner be able to elude this Testimony of the invisible God When thou wast under the Fig-tree I saw thee said Christ to Nathanael his Conscience knew he had been there and he believed But this was in love In that Day we speak of such Language as this will be pronounced in wrath and indignation and therefore will cause other Thoughts in the hearts of the Wretch that shall hear it Thou careless Creature couldst thou imagine that any thing was hid from me Did not I see thee at such a time in such a place in such a Garden in such a Chamber playing the Rebel and the Wanton Did not I see thee treating with mine Enemies Did not I see thee conspiring against me Hadst not thou such base thoughts such wicked intentions such impure desires in such Company I opened the Windows of Heaven and looked upon thee when thou wast committing Fornication with such a Woman Wilt not thou believe me who look'd within the Curtains and saw thy abominations Couldst thou think I would look on and not set thy sins in order before theeâ— There will be no contradicting of this Testimony for thy Conscience O man will immediately joyn issue with it and say as Nathan to the guilty King Thou art the Man For besides this grand Witness there
upon Heaven and all that time look'd very ghastly recovering out of the Extasie and being asked by his Friends where he had been and what his Thoughts had been during those three days and what made him look so strangely O my Friends said he Do you ask me where I have been Alas I have been these three days standing before the great Tribunal and seen how the most just Judge sentenced divers Souls to Eternal Darkness and who would not stand amazed at the dreadful Spectacle It was therefore a very good Prayer of St. Ambrose I do most vehemently desire O Lord that thou wouldest be pleased to imprint and very deeply imprint the Land skip of the future World the Miseries of the Disobedient the Groans of the Stubborn the Agonies of the Impenitent the Shrieks of the Prophane the Vexations of Hypocrites the Fears of the Careless the Destruction of the Covetous the Perdition of Worldlings the Flames of the Revengeful the Terror of Damnation and Eternal Torments and the future Felicity of thy Kingdom upon my Mind for it is impossible that he that thinks much of these things should not become thy Child and Servant and one of those whom thou host predestinated to Eternal Life Dost thou laugh said the Old Man in Ruffinus to a Youngster whose Behaviour was very light when you and I are to be judged before Heaven and Earth And indeed that Person that surveys what the Divine Jesus hath said of this future Judgment thinks how in that Day the Powers of Heaven will be shaken the Sun turned into Darkness the Moon into Blood and the Stars forbear to give their Light how the World and all the Elements will be on Fire the Universe melt like Wax the Earth be burnt up the Seas dried and the Rivers consumed and with what Glory and Bravery the once afflicted Son of God will then appear with an Army of Angels about him displaying their Banners and carrying the Sign of the Son of Man before him how before him all Nations will be assembled and all that are in their graves upon hearing the Voice of God loud as Thunder and more dreadful too will be summoned to appear before his Bar the Judge shining in his Meridian-glory brighter than Moses clearer than the Sun and how the Consciences of guilty men will quake at this sight their Hearts misgiving them that their Portion will be in outward Darkness how formidable all the Transactions will be how immutable the Sentence after it is once passed not to be altered or deprecated by Saints or Angels how all Evasions Subterfuges will be out of doors there and all possibility of transferring our Errors upon others who have been Partners with us in our Sins will vanish how those that make themselves Fools for Christ's sake in this Life were reproached reviled derided and laughed at for their Severities would not lose their Souls for a Trifle nor sell their Birthright to Eternal Bliss for a Morsel of Meat would hold fast their integrity though solicited by innumerable Losses and Crosses and by their nearest Relations to curse God and die how these who were here made the off-scourings of all things will then be absolved and quitted and have Seats appointed them in the Mansions of Glory there to reign and sing the Goodness of God to all Eternity I say he that seriously surveys these things if he be a Person who hath not debauch'd or lost his Reason cannot but be affected by passages of this Nature and think it time to curb himself in his sensual Delights and Satisfactions But 2. Bare thinking is not enough but the Particulars of this future Judgment must be actually applied to our selves General things and what is done to others though they may touch the Heart yet do not subdue it till particular applications give them force and power A Fire that is a Mile off from me though it causes in me some sense of the Calamity yet if it threatens the House I live in my Faculties soon bestir themselves and I fall to work and secure my self in good earnest so here when I behold the tremendous Process of this Judgment I must reflect that as God deals with others so he will certainly deal with me that I have no greater privilege than others but must stand and fall by the same Law that they stand and fall by that to fancy any more favourable proceedings towards me than God intends to others is but a Dream and contrary to the impartiality of the Judge that as I have a Soul to be saved as well as my Neighbour so God will expect I should live here as he bids my Neighbour live that neither my Estate nor Dignity neither my Offices nor Friends neither my Riches nor my Greatness will excuse my living more carelesly than my poorer Friends nay that my outward Advantages make my Account greater and as I have had greater Talents bestowed upon me so more will be required of me than of them who have not had those opportunities of being good and holy which I have had that as God hath advanced me in the World placed me in a higher station given me a considerable figure here on Earth made his Candle to shine upon me caused my Root to spread by the Waters and the Dew of Heaven to lie all night upon my Branch and afforded me Credit and Respect among men so he looks for greater Fruitfulness in good Works and more than ordinary exemplariness to advance his Glory and to spread the Power of Religion among my Inferiors and Dependants and therefore upon a view of this future Process I must needs rouze my Soul by such Questions as these If God be resolved to judge the Secrets of mens hearts according to his Gospel what will become of me Should God call thee to Judgment O my Soul this Night or this Hour art thou in a condition to appeat before so great so dreadful a God Is this Foolery thou pleasest thy self with this wanton Dress this jolly Life these merry Hours this Gaming this Carousing this extravagant Laughter this Fondness of the Humor of the Age this immodest and frothy Talk this foolish Garb this phantastick Fashion this mispending thy Time this keeping of vain Company this unprofitable way of Living this thy being intent altogether upon the Profits and Pleasures of the World this Indifferency in Religion these faint Resistances of Temptations this Neglect of known Duties this unfaithful Discharge of the Duties of thy Relations this unwillingness to mind any thing that 's serious this Aversion from Spiritual Discourses and Actions this want of Gravity c. Are these fit Wedding-Garments to come before the King of Heaven in Thou maist be summon'd to come to his Bar within this day or two think what an infinite Majesty thou must be presented to Should God speak the word within a few Minutes Come away come away and give an Account of thy Behaviour how unprepared art thou
Tears shall be able to deliver the guilty and polluted Soul from the impendent danger when it shall be said to the humble Friend sit up higher and to the proud Fool Give place to him that is more honourable than thou art when the Book of Conscience shall be opened and the Dead judged by the Contents of that Book when the Sinner will not know where to flee and his Spirits will fail him for fear of him that sitteth upon the Throne O God! Fix these Considerations in my Soul strengthen my Faith that I may believe these things unseen without wavering How apt is the World to get between this tremendous Day and my sight Quicken thou mine Eyes that I may see through all impediments into that Process and reflect what manner of Person I ought to be in all holy conversation and godliness Lord Jesu great Judge of the World let the Lines of that Judgment be written so legibly in my mind that my Soul may delight to read them that nothing may divert me from studying and considering them let this be my chief study and let me feel the fame effect that those men did who were converted at thy Apostles Sermon let me be prickt at the Heart and cry out What must I do to be saved Let the thoughts of this Day make a Reformation in my outward and inward Man that it may appear that thou hast touch'd me with a Coal from the Altar O God to whom Vengeance belongs shew thy self and disperse my foolish Desires Let my Soul feel the Transactions of that Day as well as believe them Clear my Understanding and enlighten my Mind that I may have a livelier Prospect of it I will not let thee go except thou bless me Look down from the Habitation of thy Holiness and visit my Soul Expel the Prejudices I have against Severity of Life and with the Thoughts of this Day destroy them utterly Let the consideration of this Day so work upon me that my Ambition Covetousness Pride and Anger may tremble at this sight and leave their habitation and may be ever afraid of returning Oh tell me that this Day will certainly come and that the Day of my Death will be the Emblem of it Oh assure me of the Terror of that Day that shall burn like an Oven wherein all that do wickedly shall be Stubble and the Fire shall burn them up that it shall leave them neither Root nor Branch let me not take example by the careless World that put this evil Day far from them Let it be always before me Let my Mind be never free from the Contemplations of it Let it mingle with my Business with my Meals with my Converse with my Sleep and with all my Undertakings In every Sin I am tempted to let it frighten me in my going out and in my coming in let it continually beat upon my Mind Oh my Lord let me muse upon this Day of Retribution this Day of Recompence this Day of Trouble this Day of Terror this Day of Joy this Day of Comfort this Day wherein thy Promises and Threatnings will be fulfilled this Day which must decide the controversie of my Life and Death this Day which will bring to light all hidden things this Day which will revive the good and confound the bad this Day of Consolation this Day of Consternation let me ruminate upon it till thoughts of this Judgment prevail with me to become a new Creature thy Grace must melt my stubborn Heart without thee I can do nothing O relieve me O come in with the Light of thy Countenance Stir up my Soul and rouze it from its carelesness Call to me as thou didst to thy People of old let that voice sound in my ears The great Day of the Lord is near it is near and hasteth greatly even the Voyce of the Day of the Lord the mighty Man shall cry bitterly that Day is a Day of Wrath a Day of Trouble and Distress a Day of Wastness and Desolation a Day of Darkness and Gloominess a Day of Clouds and thick Darkness a Day of the Trumpet and Alarm against the fenced Cities and against the high Towers and I will bring Distress upon men that they shall walk like blind Men be cause they have sinned against the Lord and their Blood shall be poured out as Dust and their Flesh as the Dung neither their Silver nor their Gold shall be able to deliver them in the Day of the Lord 's Wrath. O let me not lose the sense of this Day Oh let me consider how much better it is to be humble and contemptible and to hunger and thirst and to suffer here and afterwards to enter into my great Masters Joy than to be a Slave to my Lusts and Pleasures here and to be bound at last with everlasting Chains of Darkness Chains which never wear out Chains which always bind are always grievous always painful Oh let me consider how much better it is to mourn here and to water my Couch with my Tears and to afflict my Soul and after this to triumph with the Spirits of Men made perfect than to feed upon Pleasures which at the best are but like the crackling of Thorns under a Pot and then to be sent away to howl with Devils Help Lord help that my Soul may be concern'd at her danger and despise the World and prepare against that Day and encounter with Powers and Principalities and Spiritual Wickednesses in high Places if by any means I might attain unto the Resurrection of the Dead Such Prayers offered from a Heart that hath no Reserves from a Heart resolved to do any thing rather than miss of Salvation such Prayers I say if they express the very desires of our Souls will certainly put Death and Paleness into our sensual Pleasures and oblige us to entertain other Thoughts of the gauds and gaieties of the world than now we have and make us sensible that this casting such a damp on the foolish fatisfactions of the flesh with the Prospect of that Day is not only a Task fit for Hermits and Melancholick Scholars and contemplative Men but a Duty incumbent on all that carry immortal Souls in their Breasts which calls me to the Fourth Point 4. Whether every Man is bound to embitter his carnal Delights with this Prospect To this I must answer in the Affirmative For though the young Man be particularly mentioned here yet since the expression in the Text reaches all men who are fit for action all such must necessarily fall under the obligation of this Duty and all that are capable of such Delights are bound to make use of the aforesaid consideration in order to this self-denial if the young Man is obliged to this seriousness much more older Men if God will not allow of these Delights in Youth they must necessarily be intolerable in Years of greater Maturity and if the tender Age be concerned to embitter them with this Prospect
enough except you add your Neighbours offences to make his wrath the heavier All those persons of your acquaintance that go to a Play because you do are all Scandalized by your example and is not this putting a stumbling-block in your Neighbours way especially if people believe that you have some goodness in you or have a name that you are Religious how bold doth this make other persons to venture on these vanities And how dreadful must this make your account Either you do not think much of another World or if you do you cannot but conclude that these things will lie very heavy upon your conscience one day What if you do not think it to be sin will your thinking so excuse you Willful ignorance is as bad as a known sin and how easily might you know such doings to be sinful But being unwilling to be better informed judge you whether it will not agravate your Condemnation how could the Primitive Christians know these things to be sinful And is it not possible for you to know it They had the Bible so have you They had the same precepts that you have only they did not read the Scripture so superficially as perhaps you do and that was the reason why they came to the knowledge of this sin while you halt betwixt two opinions Their affections did not lean and bend so much to the the World as perhaps yours do and therefore they might easily perceive Christ's and the Apostles meaning while you who dote too much upon these outward things have a cloud or mist before your eyes that you cannot discern the sense of the Holy Ghost Your present divertisements may hide the guilt from your sight but when the Summons of a terrible God to appear at his bar shall rouze your Conscience one day you 'll be of anothermind How Did Christ come down from Heaven and die and spill his blood for you that you might securely indulge your carnal Genius Did he sacrifice himself for you that you might please your self with such fooleries Hath he appeased the Almighties wrath for you that you might spend your time in a Theatre Is this a proper end of the mighty purchase he hath made Did such phantastick actions deserve so great a condescension Is it likely that he would have astonish'd all the Angels of Heaven with his descent into this valley of tears if this security in carnal satisfactions had been his design One would rather think that so deep a humiliation called for the greatest severities and was shewn on purpose to engage poor mortals to the profoundest acknowledgments of his favour One would think that such miracles of charity challenged a most serious behaviour and that after this men should not dare to think of trivial and impertinent things This is more likely to be the end of his Incarnation and Suffering than the other To delight in such vanities is a disparagement to his love a blemish to his charity a disgrace to his condescension and an undervaluing of so great a mercy And do you thus reward him Do you thus requite his kindness Is this the return you make him for his sweat and agonies for his sighs and groans for his pains and all his labours Did he bleed that you might grow strong in sin Did he die that you might cherish the lusts of the Flesh Did he make himself of no reputation that you might please your self with divertisements invented only to affront him and to render his endeavours to convert our souls ineffectual Have not you observed it Have not you taken notice how men and women who have had some zeal for Religion and very pious inclinations how that zeal hath decreas'd upon their frequenting these Houses how their goodness hath decay'd how flat they are grown in Devotion how weak in their Holy Performances how dull in the work of Meditation how slovenly and superficial in Gods service may be they have kept up some outward shews some external formality some earnestness for the fringes of Religion or for the ceremonial part of Christianity But have not you seen how they are become strangers to that life which must adorn it to that contemplation of good things they formerly delighted in to that strictness they once professed Have not you seen how they have remitted in their warmth and how the holy fire that once burn'd in their breasts is gone out And is your Christianity so fierce and violent that it needs a bridle Is it so hot that it must have an extinguisher Is it so flaming that it wants this stolen water to quench it With what face dare you approach the Table of your Lord who have been a spectator of such shews but a little before With what eyes can you appear in the presence of that King of Kings who have but a little before prostituted your Soul to the Devil With what conscience can you promise the Lord Jesus to follow him when you intend to expose your self again to these temptations Do not you blush to think how you serve both God and Mammon Christ and the World contrary to your Redeemers protestation that you cannot serve two Masters If you come to the Lords Table one day and run to a Play-house another do not you destroy all that you built the day before If you come to the Supper of the Lord there to profess your sorrow for loving the World are you in good earnest sorry for it or are you not If not why do you play the hypocrite or do you think to put a cheat upon the Almighty as if he did not see your heart or would be taken with shew and pomp If you are how can you run into the same temptation again or go to a place where you will infallibly be tempted to the love of the World Is not this to shut the gates of mercy against you Is not this to make your self odious to that God whose favour you expect in the last day Is not this to live in contradictions In this Sacrament you profess to imitate your Lord in despising the World and is this imitation to go one day into the house of God and the next into a den of Thieves for so the Stage may justly be called where men are robb'd of their rellish of spiritual objects Whence hath come that Atheism that looseness that indifferency in things Divine that low esteem of the tremendous mysteries of Christianity which of late like a Land-flood hath over run us Have they not deriv'd their boldness from these places Have not the vices represented there in jest been practised by the forward youth at home in good earnest And can a Christian have a good opinion of these houses where so many have lost their vertue Can any man of reason think that after all this mischief they may be safely hugg'd and applauded Those many notorious Fornications and Adulteries we have heard and know of those bare-faced cheats mens boastings of their sins and