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DISCOURSE XIV.

The fame Subject.

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N the former difcourfe upon this fubject, fome account was promised of the further evils which are the natural confequences of the fins forbidden. in the text. First then, that which is, or ought to be, the most dear to man and woman, the precious treasure of a good name, is thereby totally forfeited. Secondly, there is no inheritance, or income, no fortune, or eftate, but may be reduced, and annihilated by profligate extravagance. How often is health and vigorous a mournful prey to the ruinous effects of libidinous courfes? What genius or understanding but may be fpoiled by being devoted to this deftructive vice? What a fhocking change doth it finally make in the rareft beauty! It foon tarnifheth the precious flower of youth, and bringeth grey hairs, and the marks of age before their time. "In short, there is no gift of nature, or of fortune, but what fuffers from the baneful influence of inordinate and unlawful pursuits. And these are perhaps, among the leaft calamitous attendants of vicious paffions, if we feriously confider the additional

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tional, and fometimes immediate mifery of impure diseases and the mischief to the community by the illegitimate offspring of moft offenders in this way, to the high difpleasure of God, and the difhonor and decline of wedlock. How many among the lefs opulent ranks of men, wafte all their fubftance by these means, and bring themselves to utter poverty? are often tempted to steal in order to fupport their guilty companions, and at last pay for their tranfgreffions with the forfeiture of their lives? How frequently do we read and hear of the moft brutal violence from mutual paffion in the parties; nay, of murder being committed in confequence of these unchafte connections! What dreadful havoc doth this fpecies of debauchery make with virgin innocence! What grief and difcord doth it many times produce in families! Nay, the public good is manifeftly injured, in proportion as the practice of harlotry gains ground; the rifing generation being neceffarily both weakened, and diminished, by all exceffes of this nature..

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But what is by far moft grievous, God's law is particularly flighted and dishonoured by fuch fins. It is to the licentiousness of men in this refpect that the many scandalous divortes are so common; which are warranted by man's authority, doubtlefs to the great difpleasure of the Almighty, and the violation of that most holy bond of matrimony, moft graciously inftituted by God, as a preventive against fin, and to the great comfort and convenience of the creature, in this frail state of perilous trials for when once this dangerous habit hath fo far prevailed, as to attach a person to loofe connections, (in cafe of previous wedlock) his true and lawful companion foon becomes difguftful, her fociety is no longer pleasant to him, and from a very obvious caufe; for being befotted with vice, her very prefence reminds and reproaches him of his guilt; her appearance confequently is irkfome, and urges him

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to discontent; and to cut fhort the caufe of his difquiet, he therefore feeketh occafion for a fepara→ tion; he is no longer fenfible of his former rational delight, being wholly vitiated by abandoned company and thus the virtuous wife too often makes way for the diffolute courtezan. And, alas! from the great depravity of human nature, it fometimes happens, on the other hand, that the fame crime in the unfaithful wife occafions the fevere difquietude and mifery of the honeft husband. This must be allowed a moft deplorable abufe; when we feriously reflect, that Chrift, our bleffed Lord and Savior, very God, and very man, came down from heaven to restore the honor due to the law of his Hea venly Father; and among other things, to reform this grievous violation of the original law of God. . For as the Jews had indulged a long cuftom by tradition of putting away their wives almoft at pleafure, and for very trifling excufes, our Savior took occafion to reprove that practice, and taught exprefsly, that if any man fhould put away his wife, and marry another, for any other reafon except the trefpafs of adultery, (which was in thofe times. death by law) he was accounted an adulterer himself, and the cause of adultery likewife in his wife thus feparated, in cafe of her cohabiting with another. man; and the man fo living with her was alfo judged a party in the crime.

How dreadful then must be the cafe of all who, through preference of an unchafte connection, difcard their lawful wives, in defiance of the divine command, and contrary to right and confcience. Moft dangerous furely muft their condition be'; fwift deftruction will certainly overtake them, if they do not repent, and mend their ways. God will not fuffer his holy inftitution to be continually defpifed, and violated with impunity, but fooner or later will most forely vifit all loofe and diforderly conduct; for marriage (as the Apostle writes)

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is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled, but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge; that is, condemn and punish.

But after all, flight is the defcription that hath here been given, both of this fin, and its mifchievous confequences, in comparison of the real fact. It is beyond the power of imagination and language, to paint it in its proper colours, according to its foul appearance in the fight of heaven. What has now been faid muft therefore be received, as an earnest endeavour to admonish you against the practice of it, and to live in the fear of the Lord; and then what has been advanced will happily not prove in vain.

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THE THIRD PART.

In the fecond divifion of the subject, it has been fhewn you what more particularly relates to the feveral miseries of a temporal nature, which usually attend thefe ruinous habits, and that by yielding to this one vice, we infenfibly fall into many others, till finally we become flaves to Him who is the author of all ungodliness and wrong. Whereas, on the other hand, by cultivating ftrict purity of life and manners, we remain members of Chrift, our head, and become daily more and more prepared for the prize of our high calling. And that nothing may be wanting to deter you from incurring the divine wrath, or to affift you in obtaining God's favor, you will do well to attend, in the laft place, to the heavy vifitation which the Almighty hath formerly inflicted upon those who have been guilty of these crimes, and alfo how ftrictly and feverely even worldly

worldly princes have occafionally punished the fame; that thus you may be moft fully perfuaded that adultery and fornication are fins as hateful in the fight of God, and all good men, as they have been described to you.

We read in the first book of. Mofes, that when mankind began to multiply upon the earth, both men and women devoted themselves fo greedily to carnal appetites, and filthy practices, that they were faid to live without any fear of God. The Almighty, perceiving their brutal and abominable courfes, and that they fhewed no willingness to amend, but rather increased daily in all unclean and finful ways, was fo terribly provoked, as to exprefs himself in these remarkable terms, that it repented him that he had even made man. And to teftify how highly he abhorred their iniquitous proceedings, he caufed all the fountains of the earth to burst, and the fluices of the heavens to be opened, fo that the waters rofe, and defcended upon the earth, for the space of forty days and forty nights. By this means he deftroyed the whole world, and all mankind, excepting eight perfons, with that por⚫tion of the animal creation his wifdom thought proper to preserve. The objects of his favor were Noah, (that preacher of righteousness, as St. Peter calls him) and his wife, with their three fons, and their wives. Here furely is a woeful proof of God's fierce anger against the particular fins condemned in the text, which involved the whole creation in fo dire a punishment: for it is worthy notice in this place, that God did not deftroy the world for the firft fin that was committed, (heinous as man-flaughter was,) because his long-fuffering would have led men to repentance, but it was for whoredom and uncleanness that the world was drowned, as being a vice that had corrupted the creature paft all hope of reformation, and all that dwelt on earth, except the few just perfons before defcribed, perifhed in the

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water,

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