Quality foever it be; for it is capable of SERM. ruining his Circumstances, and poyfoning XVII. his Temper; fo that there fhall not be a Thing fo foolish or bafe, nor fo pernicious to himself and Country, but he will at last be hurried into.

Thus I have laid before you the natural Arguments against all inordinate Lufts of the Flesh, without taking in the Affiftance of Faith and Religion. And even So they have been found, taking Men fingly, the greatest Enemies to their Interests of Safety, Peace, and Pleasure itfelf, both in the Body and the Soul; and deftructive of all the fame Advantages, as they arife from Society, whether in Families and Neighbourhoods, or States and Kingdoms.

But if we look upon Men in their better Capacity, as confifting of a Soul immortal, and a Body that fhall revive and live together; if we look upon them as Pilgrims and Strangers here, but Subjects, Citizens and Heirs of a Kingdom eternal in the Heavens; the Obligation to abstain from these Lufts of momentary

Pleasure

SERM. Pleasure will appear infinitely more strong, XVII. and in fome Cafes more extended. And to that I should now come; but it muft be at fome other Opportunity.

SERM. XVIII,

SERMON

XVIII.

The Reasonableness of curbing
Fleshly Appetite.

PART II,

I PET, II. 11.

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as Strangers and Pilgrims, abflain from flefbly Lufts, which war against the Soul.

B

EFORE Mankind was SERM.
enlightened by the Gof- XVIII.
pel of our Saviour, their
Reason for the Guidance
of Life and Manners

was not fo clear, as to

leave them free from Difficulties and Error. Even those few, that spent their Time in the Confideration of these

Things,

SERM. Things and fet up for Teachers, were di-
XVIII. vided extremely about the chief End of

Man, and governing Principle of all his
Actions. And yet till this be fettled, all
muft remain loofe and uncertain. Some
of them, in particular, placed this End
and Good of Man, in Virtue; others join-
ed with that a Competence of bodily and
external Bleffings; and others (who had
the most numerous Followers) would have
it to be found in the Enjoyment of Plea-
fures. The first and fecond, though their
Doctrine were creditable and fplendid, and
adapted to the public Good, yet labour'd
under this Difficulty; that they wanted
Motives powerful enough to determine
many Perfons to the Self-denial which
Virtue often requires, and to make them
eafy under it. And the third, not infift-
ing fufficiently on this Self-denial, opened
a wide Gap to Selfishness and fleshly Lufts;
and left Men to be useless or pernicious
Members both in private and publick So-
cieties, Befides; all these, and whatever
other Philofophies there were, remain'd
incapable of perfuading, effectually, any
great, Numbers, because the Happiness

they

they severally proposed, was (for the most SER M. part of Men) overthrown by Experience. XVIII, For how fhould they be govern'd by the View of a Good propofed, which generally proved impoffible to be attained, but was ftill disappointed in the Effect with Emptiness and Misery. The Reafon of all this Weakness, if we trace it, will be found here; that they confined their Confiderations to this Life, having no clear Account, or well-established Tradition, of the Happiness, or the Mifery, that awaits us in another. They generally despised the Tradition they had to that Purpose ; and fo made their Judgment of Mankind, whofe Nature they were ignorant of. Accordingly their Conclufions were wide and defective; as they must be, while they reasoned upon that as perishing in a few Years, which indeed was to revive and be of immortal Duration, and that in a State exceedingly different from the prefent, which fell under their Confideration.

But now, that the Revelation of our God and Saviour hath given all Men clear Evidence of their being Strangers and Pil