* 2 to Tim. 2. 1. 4. 5. 6. Timothy the horrid Crimes of the last Times i. e. of the Times immediately preceding the Destruction of the Jews he tells us that in the last Days Perillous Times shall come and the Reason he gives us in the following Words For Men shall be Lovers of their own selves Covetous Boasters Proud Blasphemous Disobedient to Parents Vnthankful Vnholy without Natural Affection Truce-Breakers False-Accusers Incontinent Fierce Despisers of those that are good Traytors High-minded Lovers of Pleasures more then Lovers of God And * St. Peter tells us the Mischief and Misery they bring upon themselves for speaking of such as take pleasure in Riot and Sport themselves in their 2 Pet. 2. 12 13. own Deceivings he saith These as Natural Brute Beasts are made to be taken and destroyed and shall utterly Perish in their own Corruption and shall receive the Reward of Vnrighteousness And indeed our own Experience may too sadly demonstrate all this to us For what Wickedness is there so abominable or what Misery so intollerable to which he that gives up himself to the persuit of any one Pleasure is not necessarily exposed What Crime doth he bauk that stands in his way betwixt him and his beloved Pleasure How does the Voluptuous Prodigal destroy his Health disturb his Reason and ruine his Estate in the too eager Persuit of his beloved Delight How doth he like the Prodigal in the * Gospel run away from his best Friends and Luke 15. 11. 17. nearest Relations spend all his Portion and waste all his substance in Riotous Living till having brought himself to the Extremest Necessity and having made himself more like a Swine than a Man he is at length turn'd out to their Company and is glad to feed upon the Swines husks How hath the Love of Pleasure conquered the most Glorious Conquerors destroyed the most Invincible Armies and ruined the greatest Monarchs of the World Hannibal that could not be subdued by all the Roman force lost the most Valiant Army by the Pleasures of Capua So that Seneca saith too truely of him Epist 11. that he was Armis invictus vitiis victus not overcome by others Armes but Vanquish'd by his own Vices Xerxes whose Army in Forraging destroyed whole Countries and drank up whole Rivers as it went who was the greatest Monarch then in the World as well as the Richest when he had so far given up himself to his Delights that as * Cicero tells us by a publick Edict he proclaimed Cic. Tuscul Quest lib. 5. a Reward to any that could find out any new sort of pleasure how suddenly did he lose that vast Army and his greater Empire So that the * Historian might well conclude What can Valer. Max. not Varior pag. 750. lin 7. be more filthy than those Vices or what more hurtful by which all Vertue is defaced Victories languish Glory is buried in Infamy and all the Powers both of Soul and Body are utterly destroyed For they that are possessed with the inordinate Love of Pleasures seem to be like the Swine into whom the Legion of Devils had entred they run headlong with the greatest Violence to their own Destruction Their beloved Pleasure so imploys all the Faculties of their Souls and all the Members of their Bodies till they are fit for nothing that becomes a Man and take care of nothing more than the present satisfaction like the Brute Beasts and then this their Prodigality reduceth them to the most miserable necessity and thence into the worst of Crimes till publick Justice if no other private Accident hath done it before brings them to the most unnatural and most shameful ends This I am confident we shall find too true by our own sad Experience For if we enquire the Causes of all their Crimes who suffer by the hands of the publick Executioners of Justice we shall find that the immoderate pursuit of unlawful Pleasures hath most commonly hurried them to their own ruin For few or none of such miserable Wretches but in their last and dying words are forc'd to confess that their own Lusts and inordinate Passions have brought them to all their Shame and Misery Amongst which none can be more exorbitant than that concerning which I am next to discourse of Viz. 4. Envy or Malice Fourthly Envy Malice or the Love of Revenge For neither is this a less Foolish or less Fatal Passion than any other For whoever gives up himself to this Lust does as it were stretch himself upon the Rack and become his own Torturer He pines himself away in the midst of all abundance and starves whilst he possesseth the greatest plenty He is his own Vulture and Preys upon his own Bowels For so deadly a Disease of the mind is this of Envy that scarcely any thing the envious man eats or drinks can give him any suitable Nourishment but the most delicate Viands are by this Passion turn'd into Gall and Bitterness It so fires or at least so soures the Blood and so burns up or corrodes the Vitals that it soon dissolves the best-temper'd Body beyond all the help of Art or Nature To what fatal Miseries is the man of Malice necessarily and incessantly exposed If his malicious Designs take they are commonly so bloody that his own Darts being cast back upon him by the hands of Justice do slay himself and if he misseth his deadly Aims the Arrows that he shoots at others like those that are shot directly upwards fall down again upon his own head and wound him even unto Death He is in a much worse condition than any other Malefactor For he not only suffers for the Crimes he hath committed but for those which he cannot act this being one of his greatest Tortures that he cannot do them A dreadful Example of this nature the immortal * Dr. Harvey gives us of a Noble man Libr. de Circulat Sanguin who having received some Affront which he was not able to revenge took it so much to Heart that his Passion swell'd him like Poyson and as soon destroyed him for in a short time after he dyed of a malignant Fever and being dissected his great Artery was found as big as the jugular Artery of an Oxe So virulent a Venome does accompany this Passion and so certainly true is that of the holy Job Wrath killeth the Job 5. 2. Foolish-man and Envy slayeth the Silly one Why should I mention the publick Calamities that it brings along with it since they cannot but be visible to all Observers What Murders hath it not acted What Schisms in the Church or Seditions in the State hath it not rais'd and carryed on In a Word what Mischief or what Villany can be so great which it hath not accomplish'd All Histories are too full of sad Instances of this kind What unspeakable Mischiefs what shameful Vid. Optatum Milv Schisms what abominable Seditions Murders and Treasons over-spread all Africa
through the Envy of Donatus and his Party because others were preferred before them And how did their Animosities continue to divide them till they lost their Country and Christianity both together and are now so over-run with Heathens that scarcely any Appearance of the Christian Religion is left amongst all the African Churches which were before these Divisions as glorious for their Profession of and constancy in the Christian Faith as any Churches in the whole World What miserable Calamities did the Malice of the Leaders of three Factions or Sects bring upon the Jews when they were besieged in Jerusalem Vid. Josephum de Bill Jud. No less than the sharpest Famine the moâ—â— unnatural Murders the highest Profanations of all things sacred and in a Word the utter desolation of their City and Temple and the final Extirpation of their Government and Religion So that they who were the most glorious People in the World are becomemere Vagabands and the Scum and Derision of all Nations I wish to God we had not too near Examples in the Divisions amongst our selves proceeding from the same Cause and that our Magistrates would take Care to suppress them lest they proceed to the same sad Effects viz. the utter Ruin of the best constituted Church and State in the whole World To add but one Instance more out of common Vid. Livii Decad Histor Rom. History How did the Envy of Hanno and his Faction against Amilcar ruine all the Affairs of Carthage and laid the glorious City in the Dust which otherwise had not fail'd of being the sole Empress of the whole Earth If we look into the Sacred Writings we shall find that Cain's Envy spared not his own Brother but made him become his Murderer And the Envy of Korah and his Company was the cause of the first Schism and Rebellion that we read of even against Moses and Aaron those very persons who by a mighty hand and miraculous Power had delivered them from their Aegyptian Bondage and drew upon themselves the most signal Punishment For God created a new thing and made the Earth divide it self that they might pass down quick into Hell who were the Dividers of Israel What should I add more Lest there should be any Evil too great to be the Effect of this Vice Envy and Pride were the Causes even of Hell it self And this now leads me to take notice of the last irregular Passion which I mentioned that too often proves fatal to it's Followers viz. Fifthly Pride Ambition or the immoderate 5 Pride and Ambition Love of Honors And indeed this may well follow Envy for they are inseparable Companions it being almost impossible for a man to be proud unless he be envious and altogether impossible to be envious unless he be first proud and ambitious and as ambitious and envious men are like Simeon and Levi Brethren in Iniquity so they are no less nearly allied in Misery For as their Sins are much the same so they suffer much the same Punishments Whatsoever Crime Danger or Disease is the effect of Envy may be also reckoned in the number of the miserable tho' natural Consequences of Pride and Ambition For as for publick Calamities what Schisms what Factions what Wars what Rebellions what Desolations ever were in the World in which Ambition had not an hand For as tho' there were no other Cause of these Mischiefs Solomon saith * Only by Pride cometh all Contention Prov. 13. 10. And as for private Mischiefs What Miseries can be so great into which the proud man doth not involve himself and all his Partners If he miss of his Designs in climbing up on high he most commonly breaks his Neck in the Fall But if he prospers a while this encourages him to proceed unto such Crimes the due Sense and Horror of which are enough to break his Heart For from this Crime of Ambition when it hath once got the absolute Dominion over a man as from the Lyon's Den in the Fable we can see no Foot-steps backward but if any man be so silly a Beast to be plung'd into it he seldom or never escapes with Life For if we will believe the Experience of the wisest of men he assures us * That Pride goeth before Destruction Prov. 16. 18. But suppose the utmost that can be thought on for the proud man's advantage viz. that he reacheth his highest Aim and Design and attains by his Crimes the highest honors yet the Crown he hath placed upon his Head by wicked hands tho' it be of pure Gold sits as uneasie upon him as a Crown of the sharpest Thorns and not only wounds his Head but his Heart too with restless Cares and endless Fears For the Sense of his own Perfidiousness makes him so jealous lest all other men should be like himself that he can trust no man and the thoughts of his own Crimes makes him in Cain's Condition to think every man he meets will certainly kill him and these terrible Fears rais'd from without together with the amazing Horrors of his Conscience within him will scarcely let him sleep or eat or enjoy any thing in quiet So that whilst he sits upon a Throne he is really more miserable than he that makes his Bed upon a Dunghil For besides the danger of Treachery from his Friends whose Wickedness he too well knows to have any just cause to trust them and besides the continual Dreads of his own Soul lest the Almighty Providence should overturn him how mortally is he hated and how continually is he baited by his Enemies and pursued even to Death by the best of men whom he hath injured whose very Vertues ingage them for the sake of the publick Safety as well as of their private Security in the most vigorous and bloody Designs against him For most commonly we see it true that ambitious men that cannot be contented with their own state like the proud rebellious Absalom that was hanged by his own hair in which was his main glory are executed by their own Pride For whilst by Schism and Rebellion they pull down the Pillars of the Church and State oft times they bury themselves in the Ruines that they make Of this I need give no other Instance than that of our late miserable Times amongst our selves For what profit had we from all that War and bloodshed amongst us We only brought upon our selves worse than what we fear'd We made our selves Slaves to the basest of men because we could not be contented to be Subjects to the best of Princes and for fear of bringing in Popery we had well nigh destroyed Christianity Nay when the men of Schism and Rebellion were so prosperous that they carried all before them and had in the most barbarous manner murdered the best of Kings and destroyed the best of Churches and not only kill'd but had taken Possession too of all their Power and Estates how did the all-wise and just Providence of
God by the most unexpected means even in an Instant turn the Wheel over them and bring down their Pride to the greatest Shame Neither is the proud man's Grandure and Promotion his only miserable Condition for his whole Life is not only the greatest Vanity but the greatest Misery and Vexation of Spirit For how does some little thing which he cannot have rob him of all Content and Quiet in enjoying what he hath Mordecai's stiff Knee takes from the ambitious Haman the rellish of all the Honors of the greatest Court in the World nay the Power and Glory of a Crown could afford no Rest nor Pleasure to the proud and envious Ahab when once Naboth's Vineyard had appear'd in his sight To describe the pround man's Life were to represent unto you an exact Copy of all kind of Folly and Misery For what with his continual Plots and Contrivances and his incessant Cares and Business How does he Sacrifice his Health to his Ambition for want of due Repast or of quiet Repose What with his Envy at others that are higher than himself and his eager Desires after Preferment together with his continual Fears lest he should miss of it how is he rack'd with endless Tortures What with the baseness and durtiness of the way to his proud Designs what with the many affronts and denials what with his great hopes and sometimes his greater dispair a mixture of all which he cannot but meet with in it not to say any thing of the envy and scorn of others that attend his advancement or the little satisfaction that he himself meets with in it how is he fool'd and cheated with a Cloud instead of a Deity In a word how do the several Passions raised in him by these Causes constantly torture his Mind and disorder his Body till at length they bring upon him Misery Diseases and Death I need not remind you of the many mischiefs this Vice exposeth us to It threw down the Angels from Heaven and cast our first Parents out of Paradise it was the cause of the first Sins that ever were committed and by consequence is the Mother of all Mischief and of all Miseries Nay it still continues actually to produce these sad effects for where Pride is there is Strife and every evil work Give me leave to add two or three practical deductions from what hath been said If Misery and Death be the natural effects of every one of these Sins Viz. Pride Envy Voluptuousness Vncleanness Anger Gluttony Drunkenness Vncharitableness Injustice Profaneness and Irreligion what then remains But that First We should all keep Watch and Ward against The first Deduction these Destroyers of Mankind We are careful enough to keep our Houses from Fire our Goods from Thieves and our Bodies from Infection of the Plague and shall we be so foolish to hug these Enemies of our Lives and to follow these Sins which are no less destructive to us than all those other dangers which we so much fear and so earnestly endeavour to avoid To this end let every one of us consider seriously what hath been said against that particular Sin to which he finds himself most inclined let every one of us endeavour to mend himself more than others especially more than our Magistrates let them alone to take care to amend the Publick by the Execution of those wholsom Laws which are establish'd in our Church and State and let us who are private Christians study to be quiet and do our own Business i. e. to work out our own Salvation with fear and trembling by avoiding our sins which we know will no less destroy our present than our future safety and Happiness Secondly If we are or have been guilty of The second Deduction any of these Sins or have seen others pursuing them with greediness and yet neither we nor they have felt any of those Miseries or Mischiefs that are the natural effects of them let us not from thence conclude that the Preacher is deceived but let us thank God for his Care and Providence over us which only hath preserved us from being our own Murderers by pursuing our own Sins and let this Patience and Long-Suffering of God prevail with us as we love our Lives to hate our Sins and to break off from them by Repentance lest by continuing in them we provoke God Almighty to give us up to be destroyed by them The third and last Deduction Thirdly and Lastly If our Sins are destructive to our present Happiness then if we have any care for our health or safety for our ease quiet or contentment or for our Lives themselves let us not any longer delay our amendment but let us immediately cast off all our Sins which are so dangerous and so hurtful to us Delays we know can never be prudent when the danger is great and imminent He that sees his House on Fire will not be so mad to squander away the present opportunity of quenching it he that descerns some mortal disease arising in his Body will lose no time in applying such Remedies as may prevent their danger Why then are we so unreasonable and senseless to trifle away our time and opportunity of quenching the Fires of our Lusts and of preventing the fatal dangers of our Sins Especially since we know not if we neglect the present whether God will give us any other opportunity in the time to come For he himself hath told us that * Gen. 6. 3. His Spirit shall not always strive with Man The only shew of Reason by which the Devil cheats too many of their Eternal Happiness is this Viz. That it is time enough to repent when they are past their Pleasures because there is some reason to hope that a Death-Bed-Repentance may be sincere and acceptable with God to the saving of our Souls But though this Pretence is most Presumptuous and groundless yet the tempter could not have so much as this against us if we did but consider that our Sins are as hurtful to our Bodies as to our Souls that they as much prejudice our present Happiness as they do our future and therefore that tho' it was possible which we have no grounds at all to suppose that a dying Repentance might come time enough to save our Souls yet it 〈…〉 absolutely too late when Sin hath already destroyed us to prevent the Miseries of our Bodies If therefore we have any care of our Lives or Happiness if we have any concern either for our own good or the good of the World and to sum up all in one Word if we would not add SELF-MVRDER to the rest of our Crimes let us put in practice that most necessary Exhortation Heb. 3. 13. of St Paul Exhort one another daily whilst it is called to day lest any of you be hardned by the deceitfulness of Sin and to this purpose let us seriously consider those Words of our Blessed Saviour and sedately ask our selves this Question of his Luke 9. 25. What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole World and lose himself or bring upon himself his own Destruction For since we are assured that as Righteousness â—endeth to Life so he that pursueth Evil pursueth it to his own Death Surely Common Prudence should perswade us no longer to hazard our present Welfare by running on in such sinful Courses as may bring upon us swift Destruction but to pursue the ways of Righteousness that so we may avoid the miseries that follow the Pursuit of Evil. To this End I shall conclude all with the most divine and most useful Words of St. Peter which are so beneficial to all Mankind that I could wish they were written upon every man's Soul in indelible Characters viz. He that will love Life and 1 Pet. 3. v. 10. to v. 14. will see good Days let him refrain his Tongue from Evil and his Lips that they speak no Guile Let him eschew Evil and do Good let him seek peace and ensue it For the Eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his Ears are open unto their Prayers but the Face of the Lord is against them that do Evil and who will harm you or who is he that shall harm you if ye be Followers of that which is good Now that all of us may so follow that which is Good and so eschew that which is Evil that we may live happily in this Life and be eternally happy in the Life to come God of his Infinite Mercy grant for Jesus Christ his sake to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be ascribed as is most due all Power Dominion Praise and Glory now and for evermore Amen FINIS