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Chaldeans for the fins committed in their drunkenneffe, because it was wilful. Vide lege Exod. 21. 28,29,

The school diftinguisheth well between voluntary and invo luntary drunkenneffe.

They call that voluntary drunkenneffe, when men do fit at the wine till it inflame them, knowing the ftrength of wine, and their own weakneffe, and feek it with delight in it. Oxe used to gore,

Involuntary they call that which overtaket man, not using, not loving it, who alfo is forry for it, and wary to decline it 'hereafter and that they hold excufeth à tanto, in part. Use Me thinks this should be a great argument to diffwade dronkenneffe, and to make men afraid of it; for God is the punish. er of it; the God that formed thee, and gave thee being, the God that took thee from thy mothers wombe, the God that hath preferved thee from thy youth up until now; That great God who breweth and filleth a Cup, and maketh all the wicked Pf. 75. 8. thereof drink it off dregs and all.

Ifa. 51.17

This Ifay calleth The Cup of the Lords fury, and he giveth his own children a taste of it, not ad ruinam, but ad dignam emendationem,not to their ruine but amendment; it is called alfo The Cup of trembling.

Jer. 25.15 God himself calleth it The wine cup of his fury.
Ez.22. 32. It is called in Ezechiel Deep and large.

And as the Apostle faith, fpeaking of the judgment to come, 2.Cor, 5.11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we perfwade men.

If men will not be perfwaded, let him that is filthy be filthy ftill; let him that is a drunkard be a drunkard ftill: But as the Apoftle St. Peter faith, if we look well about us,

Pet.4.3. The time past of our life may fuffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousnesse, lufts, excesse of wine,revellings, banquettings, &c.

Pfal.63.8

Pfal.21, 8

Yet better late then never; for if God have taken the matter into his hand, David will tell you that that hand of God is ftrong; ftrong is thy hand, faith he, this is dextra fubveniens fuis, fufcipit me dextera tua: and it is dextra inveniens, Thy hand Shall find out all thine enemies, thy right hand shall find out thofe that hate thee.

It is a fearful thing to fall into that hand.
Thy right hand is full of righteousnesse.

That righteoufneffe will give fuum cuique, to every one his own; it payeth home; he keeps it in his bofome of purpose to fpare men, and to give them time of repentance.

Heb 10.31

Pfal. 48.

But I must tell you that the Saints of God are so impatient of the wrong done to the name of God, that they cry unto him, O God how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaf Pfal. 24. pheme thy name for ever? Why withdraweft thou thy band? even thy right hand,pluck it out of thy bofome.

2. How he will punish.

1. He will fill them with fhame for glory, which shame is
further expreft, Shameful fpewing shall be on thy glory.
2, He will punish them with their own finne; for he faith,
Drink thon alfo, and let thy fore-skin be uncovered.

1. With shame.

You are not to learn that all fin is folly, and all finners are fools; but no tranfgreffor in any kind doth more make a foole of himself then the drunkard doth; for he proclaimeth his own fhame, as he walketh up and down the streets; as he fitteth in the house, his words, his gestures, his actions do all shame him,as Solomon faith,

10, II.

When he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wifedome faileth him, and he faith to every one that he is a foole fo doth a drunkard Eccl.10.3. fhame himself by telling every one that he is drunk.

This were a great punishment if cuftome of finning, and multitude of finners in this kind had not hardned the foreheads of them that tranfgreffe in this kind, that they feel not the rod of shame.

I may fay with the Prophet of the drunkards of our days, as he spake of the idolaters of his time, Were they afhamed when Jer, 6.15, they had committed abomination? nay they were not ashamed, neither could they blush.

But let no man defpife the good opinion of his neighbour; fober men care not how little converfation they have with drunkards, they feek to avoid them, and all that fear God abhor their evil manners.

Yet they glory and boast how much themselves have drunk,

Sf 2

how

how many they have made drunk; but as the Apoftle faith, Their glory is their fhame.

And though they be not fenfible of it in the heat of their wine, and in the custome of their finne, the end thereof will be bitterneffe; for the wife man telleth them, At the last it biteth Pro.23 32 like a Serpent, and ftingeth like an adder.

When shame once begins to fmart, it goeth to the quick. Remember Adam in paradise..

I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was Gen.3.10 naked, and I hid my felf.

1fa. 15 5.

The Lord will come in the cool ofthe day to us, and we shall hear his voyce in the evening of our time, and then our shame fhall come with a fting, even the fting of fervile fear,and caft up

our account..

What fruit then of thofe things whereof we are afhamed? then is God even with you.

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For he crieth out to you, How long wilt thou turn my glory into shame? Do not drunkards do fo, who make their bodies which fhould be the Temples of the Holy-Ghoft, the ftyes of uncleanneffe?

The Holy Ghost you fee is plain and homely in his phrase of fpeech; thefe drinks which they poure into their bodies luxuri oufly fhall not make their hearts glad; they fhall not comfort the ftomack, they shall not nourish the body.

The ftomach fhall complain of them as a wrong, and caft them up as a burthen too heavy for it to bear; nature it felf hall exonerate it self, and refift, regeft it in a shameful vomit.

And to use Gods own phrase, God fhall fpew these workers of iniquity out of his mouth, and all the fervice that they do to him he shall caft up again;for he wil say nauseat anima mea,my foul loatheth,he is even fick of them and their fervice.

And if God once fet upon us to fhameus, who then shall have piry upon thee O Jerufalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go afide to ask thee how thon doft?

2. He will punish them with their own fin, Drink thou alsa and let thy fore-skin be uncovered.

1. This calleth to your remembrance a doctrine formerly de fivered out of Obadiah;

That

That God requiteth finners with the fame measure that they

bave measured to others.

2. This reneweth allo the remembrance of another doctrine there delivered, that

God punisheth fin by fin; as there Edom trusted in the help of men, that was their fault; and that God laid upon them after for a punishment.

So here, the fault of the Chaldeans was their making men. drunk, that they might fee their nakedneffe, and that is their punishment; now they shall be drunk and their nakedneffe difcovered. There I handled this queftion how God would be Author of this kinde of punishment, and innocent in the finne of the offendor;

Refolving it thus; that God will withdraw his grace, and forfake them that forfake him, and leave them to the fourfe and. Arong ftreame of their own corruptions, as the Apoftle faith, God gave them up to uncleanneffe through the lufts of their owne hearts, to dishonour their bodies.

For this caufe God gave them up to vile affections.

We carry stuffe enough about us to punish us withall; if God do but make rods of our own corruptions, he will foone be armed against us.

You fhall finde in that place of the Apostle, that in man there are two things to which for fin they are yeelded up by God him felf in his juftice.

1. Emduulais radiov. v. 14. 2. Εἰς πάθη ατιμίας.

Thele two do differ much; for

1. Concupifcence is but a grudging of a difeafe, but was is the very strength of the fit.

2. Concupifcence is within the heart and affections, but this pa thos is active and in operation,and fo corrupt the whole man. God leaveth the wicked to both thefe ma is the minority Tad is the ftrength of fin..

Thus as Auguftine faith, fome fins are not tormenta peccanti um, but incrementa vitiorum, and men do not feele any punish

ment..

Yet he that shall confider it well, will find that Solomon means ›

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"Rom.1.241 Verf. 269.

Gal.6.1.

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punishment to the young many when he faith, Rejoyce O young man in thy youth: So doth the Holy Ghoft, faying, Let him that is filthy be filthy ftill.

For if God let go the reines, and leave us to our felyes, we are likely to bring our fin to a full ftature.

It is a good ufe of this point which St. Paul teacheth, Brethren, if any man be overtaken with a fault, ye which are spiri tual restore fuch a man with the spirit of meekneffe, confidering thy Self left thou also be tempted.

God hath a juft hand in the moderation of the things of this world, and of mens perfons.

Hath not the Sunne fhined on those that have made sport to behold men drunk, or otherwise, have made the most of it to their shame and difgrace amongst men; who in the just punishment of their uncharitableneffe, have themselves fallen into the fame fin of drunkenneffe, and thereby have borne a fhame and fcandal to their profeflion: this is Gods juftice upon them, they did not confider themselves, they knew not the ftrength of the temptation, they knew not their own weakneffe.

The greatest Profeffors of Religion are commonly the fevereft judges of their brethren; for their zeale against fin, and for the glory of God doth fill them with hatred of evill.

Yet let fuch confider themselves; for if God fee that their zeal begin once to burne up their charity, he will leave them to themfelves awhile, and they fhall fee quo femine nati, what they are.

For, let all men know that the cvill Angels are as much at Gods commandment as the good, for omnia illi ferviunt, all things ferve him and as it is faid,

He will give his angels charge over thee; fo it is faid likewife, PS. 78.49. He cast upon them the fiercenesse of his anger, wrath, and indignation and terriblenes by fending evil Angels among theni.

As we have the miniftry of good Angels fent unto them that fhall be heirs of falvation:

So God fendeth evill Angels alfo,not only to Saul and to the falfe Prophets of Ahab, but even to Adam in Paradise God fent him, and to St. Paul the Angel of Satan.

Thefe evill Angels fometimes come with fuggeftions to fin, to try our ftrength, that we may know how weak we are;and fom

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