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<DATE>2013-04-02</DATE>
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<NAME>Alexis Jakobson</NAME>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE SIN AND FOLLY OF <HI>Drunkenne&s;s</HI> CONSIDERED:</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>I. <HI>What it is.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>II. <HI>What is vicious or &s;infull in Drinking (whether men will call it Drunkenne&s;s or no.)</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>III. <HI>What may be &s;aid again&s;t it.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>By <HI>Edward Buckler</HI> of <HI>Bradford</HI> in <HI>Somer|&s;et&s;hire,</HI> the Author of <HI>God All in all.</HI></P>
<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed for <HI>Thomas Cockeril</HI> at the <HI>three Legs</HI> in the <HI>Poultrey,</HI> over again&s;t the <HI>Stocks-market,</HI> 1682.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="3" REF="2">
<HEAD>THE SIN and FOLLY OF DRUNKENNESS.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL><HI>1 PET. V. 8.</HI></BIBL>
<Q>Be &s;ober, be vigilant, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THE former part of the Chapter is &s;pent in Exhortations To
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. The Elders,</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. The Younger,</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. All. Who are pre&s;&s;ed</ITEM>
</LIST> To
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Humility, <HI>v.</HI> 5, 6.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. A Recumbency upon God in all Conditions, <HI>v.</HI> 7.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. Sobriety &amp; Vigilancy in the Text.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>To &s;et on (which is annexed) with this Argument, <HI>For your Adver&s;ary,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<PB N="4" REF="3">
<P>So the Text hath</P>
<P N="1">1. An Exhortation to a two-fold Du|ty, <HI>viz.</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Sobriety.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Vigilancy.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P N="2">2. An Argument to enforce, drawn from the Condition of the People of God (indeed of all men) in reference to the Devil, who is de&s;cribed by His
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Name, <HI>the Devil.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Nature, <HI>your Adver&s;ary.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. Practice, <HI>walks about.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>4. Indu&s;try, <HI>&s;eeking.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>5. Aim, <HI>to devour.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>6. <HI>A comparatis, like a roaring Lion.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P N="1">1. Of the Exhortation, and in that of the fir&s;t Duty, <HI>Be &s;ober.</HI> The word &s;ome|times &s;ignifies both the Duties that are here pre&s;&s;ed, to be <HI>&s;ober</HI> and <HI>vigilant</HI> too, as 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.5. <HI>Watch thou in all things;</HI> and 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 4.7. <HI>Watch unto Prayer:</HI> and the 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 5.8. <HI>Let us who are of the day be &s;ober.</HI> And if we may at any time limit its &s;ignification to Sobriety alone, we &s;eem then to do it with mo&s;t rea&s;on, when another word is added which bids us <HI>watch,</HI> as there is in the Text.</P>
<PB N="5" REF="3">
<P><HI>Be &s;ober,</HI> a duty of the Body as it is oppo&s;ed unto Drunkenne&s;s, and of the Mind, con&s;i&s;ting in Moderation; having no Warrant to re&s;train the Exhortation to any one of the&s;e Duties, I &s;hall un|der&s;tand it of both, and from it lay down this Doctrine.</P>
<P>Doct. <HI>Sobriety both in Body and Mind is the Duty of Chri&s;tians.</HI> Of this in two Branches.</P>
<P N="1">1. Sobriety of the Body is the Duty of Chri&s;tians. I &s;hall &s;hew you,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. What it is.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. That it is our Duty.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P N="1">1. What Sobriety (as to this part of it) is, which I can by no means give you a better account of, than by calling it that Vertue which is oppo&s;ed to what|ever is Vicious or &s;infull in the matter of Drinking. To &s;hew you then
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. What Drunkenne&s;s is; and</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. What is Vitious, or Sinful in Drink|ing, (whether men will call it Drunken|ne&s;s or no) will let you &s;ee what it is to be Sober.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P><HI>A.</HI> (1.) <HI>Drunkenne&s;s</HI> is ordinarily taken for the Privation or Lo&s;s of the u&s;e of Rea&s;on, cau&s;ed by immoderate and ex|ce&s;&s;ive
<PB N="6" REF="4">Drinking. But the be&s;t way to find out what this Sin is, is to Judge of it by the Scripture, and there</P>
<P N="1">1. The height of it indeed is, to drink to the lo&s;s of Rea&s;on and Under&s;tand|ing, that we &s;peak and do we know not what; and are not capable of ap|prehending what is &s;aid or done unto us. <HI>Nabal was very drunken, wherefore his Wife told him nothing le&s;s or more, until the morning light:</HI> In 1. <HI>Sam.</HI> 25.36. She was a wi&s;e woman, and knew that a drunken husband was not capable of be|ing di&s;cour&s;ed with, and therefore &s;tay'd &s;he till the morning, till his rea&s;on return|ed, for which there was no room till the Wine was gone out of him. <HI>v.</HI> 37. So <HI>Noah,</HI> (<HI>Gen.</HI> 9.2. and <HI>Lot, Gen</HI> 19.33.) &mdash; <HI>Multa faciunt ebrij, quorum po&s;tea &s;obrios pudet.</HI> Sen.</P>
<P N="2">2. 'Tis to drink to &s;uch a Degree of giddine&s;s that we are not able to &s;tand: &s;o <HI>Jer.</HI> 25.27. it is made a &s;ign of a drunken man, to fall and to ri&s;e no more, <HI>i. e.</HI> while his fit is upon him.</P>
<P N="3">3. 'Tis to drink till we reel and &s;tag|ger, though we fall not: in <HI>P&s;.</HI> 107.27. <HI>They reel to and fro and &s;tagger like a drunken man:</HI> And <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 24.20. <HI>The
<PB N="7" REF="4">earth &s;hall reel to and fro like a drun|kard.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. 'Tis to drink unto Vomiting. <HI>Jer.</HI> 25.27. <HI>Drink and be drunken, and &s;pue.</HI> And <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 19.14. <HI>As a drunken man &s;tag|gereth in his vomit.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. 'Tis to drink to &s;uch an alteration of our deportment, that we fall into an unu&s;ual and unbecoming behaviour: 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 1.13. <HI>Becau&s;e Hannah's lips moved, and her voice was not heard, Eli thought &s;he had been drunken.</HI></P>
<P N="2">(2.) What is vicious or &s;inful in drink|ing. <HI>B.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. To drink till we be inflamed, as <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 5.11.</P>
<P N="2">2. To drink exce&s;&s;ively, though we can carry it roundly away, when others lye by it, as <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 5.22.</P>
<P N="3">3. To drink beyond the an&s;wering tho&s;e Ends which God hath ordained drink for, which we find in Scripture to be the&s;e:</P>
<P N="1">(1.) To help our weakne&s;s and bodily infirmities, as 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 5.</P>
<P N="2">(2) To quench our thir&s;t: <HI>Give me I pray thee a little water to drink, for I am thir&s;ty. Judg.</HI> 4.19.</P>
<P N="3">(3) To refre&s;h and cheer up our &s;pirits: <HI>&s;o doth Wine make glad the heart
<PB N="8" REF="5">of man, P&s;al.</HI> 104.15. Hence <HI>Pro.</HI> 31.6, 7. In compliance with which, the Jews, when a Per&s;on was brought forth to be put to death, gave him to drink &s;ome Frankincen&s;e in a cup of Wine, that it might &s;tupifie him. What&s;oever is more than this, cometh of evil, condemned by the Apo&s;tle under the name of Exce&s;s of Wine; <HI>i. e.</HI> more than enough for a|ny of tho&s;e ends which God created Wine to &s;erve for.</P>
<P N="4">(4) To be acce&s;&s;ary to the Exce&s;s of others, <HI>Hab.</HI> 2.15. <HI>Gen.</HI> 19.32.35. <HI>Lot</HI>'s daughters. So then we may not drink to the lo&s;s of our Rea&s;on, nor till we cannot &s;tand, or not go without reeling and &s;taggering, nor till we vomit, no nor to the alteration of our u&s;ual deport|ment, nor till drink inflame us, nor at all exce&s;&s;ively whether it inflame us or no; nor any more than will an&s;wer tho&s;e ends for which drink was ordained, nor by any means be acce&s;&s;ary to the Exce&s;s of others.</P>
<P><HI>C</HI> (3.) That it is a Sin again&s;t.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. God.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Our Souls.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. Our Bodies.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. Our Families.</ITEM>
<ITEM>5. Our E&s;tates.</ITEM>
<PB N="9" REF="5">
<ITEM>6. Our Neighbours.</ITEM>
<ITEM>7. The Kingdom.</ITEM>
<ITEM>8. The Church.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="1">(1.) Again&s;t God, who hath
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Commanded Sobriety;</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Forbidden the Contrary.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P N="1">1. God commands Sobriety. I &s;hall lay before you two or three places of Scripture, where you &s;hall find the com|mand back't with mighty Arguments to &s;et it on. In 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5.8. <HI>Let us who are of the day be Sober.</HI> One Argument to pre&s;s it, is, from the &s;udden coming of Chri&s;t to Judgment. <HI>The day of the Lord &s;o cometh as a thief in the night. v.</HI> 2. Would we have our day of Death or Judgment find us in our Cups? Be drawn rea&s;onle&s;s or &s;en&s;ele&s;s, reeling or vomiting from an Ale-hou&s;e to Chri&s;t's Tribunal? If we would not, let us be Sober. The other Argument is taken from our Priviledges, being under the Light of the Go&s;pel, di&s;covering unto us holyer Cour&s;es, and engaging us to walk in them, v. 5, 6. So 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 4.7. <HI>The end of all things is at hand, be ye therefore Sober, and Watch unto Prayer:</HI> The Argument to pre&s;s it, is the &s;ame with one of the former. <HI>The end of all things is at hand;</HI> 'tis the la&s;t Age of the world, and how
<PB N="10" REF="6">long &s;oever that Age may be, yet your end of all things cannot be far off, <HI>be ye therefore Sober:</HI> the Duties ye have to do, and the preparation ye are to make, will not be done at an Ale-hou&s;e, nor by a per&s;on that is not him&s;elf. He mu&s;t live a Sober man, that would be &s;ure to die &s;o. And the command in 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 5.8. back't by an Argument that may fright us into Obedience,&mdash;<HI>Be Sober, for your Adver&s;ary the Devil, &amp;c.</HI> If tho&s;e that have Rea&s;on and Grace, have enough to do to pre&s;erve them&s;elves from &s;uch an enemy, how much in danger &s;hall we be, when we have neither? The Apo|&s;tles word of Command to Chri&s;tians, in their Engagements again&s;t the Devil is&mdash;<HI>Stand</HI>&mdash;And he commendeth to them the whole Armour of God, that <HI>having done all they may &s;tand, Eph.</HI> 6.13.14. <HI>i. e.</HI> Per&s;evere in their Chri&s;ti|an cour&s;e, &s;tand in a way of Faith, and in a way of Duty: in what po&s;ture &s;hall we be for this, when we cannot &s;o much as &s;tand upon our Leggs? In&s;tead of arming our &s;elves again&s;t the Devil, we arm the Devil again&s;t our &s;elves, if we lo&s;e our Sobriety. See how</P>
<P N="2">2. God forbids the contrary. Sometimes</P>
<P N="1">(1.) In mo&s;t patheticall Expre&s;&s;ions,
<PB N="11" REF="6">to allure us from it.&mdash;<HI>Not in rioting and drunkenne&s;s, Rom.</HI> 13.13. by rea|ding which Scripture St. <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> is re|ported to have been converted. <HI>Be not drunk with Wine, wherein is exce&s;s, Eph.</HI> 5.18. Ob&s;erve the Love and Sweetne&s;s that runs through the&s;e expre&s;&s;ions: &mdash; <HI>Ca&s;t off the works of darkne&s;s</HI> (among&s;t which this is a very dark one indeed,) you may in&s;tead of it, <HI>Put on the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t; Be not drunken with Wine;</HI> but is there any thing in&s;tead of it, where|with we may be fitted at a better rate? Yes, <HI>Be ye filled with the Spirit.</HI> And mark what the Love and Kindne&s;s of God would in&s;inuate, none but Sober per&s;ons can put on Chri&s;t, neither will the Spirit of God fill any but Sober hearts. Sometimes, (2) In mo&s;t terrifying Ex|pre&s;&s;ions, to fright us out of it. Such I hope you will judge all tho&s;e <HI>Woes</HI> that are directed again&s;t it by the Lord in Scripture; as <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 5.11.22. and 28.1. <HI>Hab.</HI> 2.15. If you ask, what the&s;e Woes have in the womb of them? I cannot tell, only this we may be &s;ure of, that <HI>Vae minantis,</HI> a Woe of threatning, when God doth pronounce it, cannot bring forth le&s;s than <HI>Vae dolentis,</HI> a woe of Lamen|tation, wherever it lights. So again&s;t God.</P>
<PB N="12" REF="7">
<P N="2">(2.) Again&s;t our own Souls, Drun|kenne&s;s having a mi&s;chievous influence upon them, both (1.) Phy&s;ically, as they are rational. (2.) Morally, as they are &s;anable.</P>
<P N="1">(1) As they are Rational, abating the Excellency, and depriving us of the u&s;e of tho&s;e noble faculties, that the good|ne&s;s of God hath be&s;towed upon us, the Act of it turning men into very Bea&s;ts, and a Habit of it into Fools. How little of Wi&s;dom, Wit, Judgment, Memory, Intention; how much of Sotti&s;hne&s;s, Non|&s;ence, Folly, do we ordinarily find in tho&s;e Brains that are &s;teept in Ale? In <HI>Ho&s;ea</HI> 4.11. <HI>Whoredom and Wine and new Wine take away the heart.</HI> The Heart you know is u&s;ually put to &s;ig|nifie the whole inner man, and all the Powers of it. The&s;e drunkenne&s;s as to their u&s;e and excellency, takes away, and in many per&s;ons to &s;uch a degree, that they have nothing left but their &s;hapes to prove them&s;elves men. Much according to the Character that <HI>Demetrius</HI> gives of one of them&mdash;<HI>Ecce quadratam Statuam, habentem &s;yrma, ventrem, pu|denda, et barbam.</HI> &mdash;We may &s;afely add a little in the Engli&s;hing of it&mdash;Behold a well made Statue, having a Cloak (if
<PB N="13" REF="7">he have not drunk it away) a mouth, a throat, a belly and a beard; a head, a skull, but not a word of any thing within that is worth the naming. We cannot well take a nearer way to &s;oak out of our Souls what|ever is ingenious or rational, than to pickle them up in drink, good parts peri&s;hing no other way at &s;uch a rate, as they do by drowning.</P>
<P N="2">(2.) As they are &s;anable. And this it doth as
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. It is Sin.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. It is a great Sin.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. Di&s;po&s;ing us to other Sins.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. Indi&s;po&s;ing us to Repentance.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P N="1">(1.) It is a &s;in, a tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion of the Law; in 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 5.8. if there were no more&mdash;<HI>Be &s;ober.</HI> It's a work of the fle&s;h, <HI>Gal.</HI> 5.21. But other things are Sins too; be it &s;o, yet the wages of every Sin is death, <HI>Rom</HI> 6.23. <HI>i. e.</HI> Hell: but this is</P>
<P N="2">(2.) A great Sin. So are not all, I mean in compari&s;on with others. You may take the altitude of it in the&s;e particulars: <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<P N="1">(1.) 'Tis a Sin again&s;t the very Law of Nature as well as again&s;t the written Law of God, being among&s;t tho&s;e evils in which there is &s;o much evil and deformity, that if there were no external Law at all again&s;t it, a rational nature mu&s;t needs look upon
<PB N="14" REF="8">it with abhorrency. So the School-men making &s;everal ranks of natural Precepts, place General Precepts in the fir&s;t, &s;uch as are <HI>per &s;e nota,</HI> as <HI>hone&s;tum e&s;t faciendum, pravum vitandum.</HI> Then Particular ones in the &s;econd, and among&s;t tho&s;e, that, <HI>videndum e&s;t Temperat&egrave;,</HI> We mu&s;t live Soberly. And that in&s;tinct and impre&s;&s;ion of nature, that hath in bea&s;ts &s;ome &s;imili|tude with that Law of nature that is in man, doth, we &s;ee, ingage them to &s;obri|ety. Tho&s;e many Laws made by Pagans a|again&s;t intemperancy, mu&s;t needs be by Di|rection from nature, having not the Scrip|ture to be guided by. Now that &s;in, which doth not only break through all the re&s;traints which are &s;et it by the Law of God, but withall flies in the face of Na|ture and Rea&s;on, and be&s;peaks a man le&s;s obedient to his Principles, than bea&s;ts are to their's, is a great Sin. Some things are <HI>Mala quia prohibita:</HI> This is <HI>prohibi|tum quia Malum.</HI></P>
<P N="2">(2.) 'Tis a Sin that defaceth the Image of God in us at a rate beyond all other &s;ins. For whereas we all lo&s;t in <HI>Adam</HI> the graci|ous qualities of our Souls, by this &s;in we throw away the natural qualities of our Souls too. The fir&s;t &s;in took away our Ho|line&s;s and Righteou&s;ne&s;s, this (as if that
<PB N="15" REF="8">were not enough) takes away our Rea|&s;on and Under&s;tanding al&s;o. But of this already.</P>
<P N="3">(3.) 'Tis a Sin that is by name &s;et down among&s;t tho&s;e Sins, that do exclude us from the Kingdom of God. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.10.</P>
<P N="3">3. It di&s;po&s;eth us to other Sins. I &s;hall (1.) Set down &s;ome Sins by name; (2.) Shew our di&s;po&s;ition to all Sins when we are not Sober.</P>
<P N="1">1. Some Sins are by name in Scripture &s;et down as the ordinary effects of Drun|kenne&s;s, <HI>viz. ex. gra.</HI></P>
<P N="1">(1.) Babling, (<HI>Prov.</HI> 23.29.) When a &s;woln Tongue &s;hall be &s;et a running by an intoxicated brain, what loud, loo&s;e, im|pertinent, lewd, idle and ridiculous di&s;|cour&s;es will it not tumble into? If a man had nothing el&s;e to do, and &s;hould write down an hours di&s;cour&s;e that pa&s;&s;eth be|tween half a dozen in this element; and on purpo&s;e to di&s;cover the vertue of a Tongue when 'tis tip't with Ale, &s;hould read it over to them when they were So|ber, 'twould clearly be enough to turn their &s;tomacks; &s;uch a hotch-potch, a confu&s;ion of witle&s;s, &s;encele&s;s, rea&s;onle&s;s, immode&s;t and unhand&s;ome &s;tuff, as (except publi&s;ht by Authors of the &s;ame Character) was never before extant in the world. The
<PB N="16" REF="9">Tongue at be&s;t is <HI>an unruly evil,</HI> as <HI>James</HI> 3.8. and hath need of a bridle to keep it in, as <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 39.1. but Drunkenne&s;s gives it the rein, and &s;witch and &s;pur, that this free bea&s;t knows not where to &s;tay.</P>
<P N="2">(2.) Brawling and Contention. <HI>Strong drink is raging;</HI> in <HI>Prov.</HI> 20.1. and who is it that <HI>hath Contention,</HI> and <HI>wounds without cau&s;e,</HI> but <HI>they that tarry long at the Wine?</HI> in <HI>Pro.</HI> 23.29, 30: And that evil Servant is then &s;aid to fall a beating his fellow-&s;er|vants, when he began to eat and drink with the drunken, in <HI>Mat.</HI> 24.49. 'Tis an odd method methinks that men u&s;e, to drink and be Friends, when had they not drank, they had never faln out.</P>
<P N="3">(3.) Whoredom. <HI>Prov.</HI> 23.31.33. This Sin brought <HI>Lot</HI> to bed with his own daughters, in <HI>Gen.</HI> 19.33.35. St. <HI>Au|gu&s;tine</HI> hath a &s;ad &s;tory to this purpo&s;e: &mdash; <HI>Ecce hodie ebrietatem perpe&s;&s;us matrem praeg|nantem nequiter oppre&s;&s;it, Sororem violare voluit.</HI> (Ex <HI>A Lap.</HI> in <HI>Dan.</HI> 5.2.) <HI>Nun|quam putabo Ebrium e&s;&s;e castum,</HI> was <HI>Hie|rom</HI>'s cen&s;ure, if you could &s;hew him a Drunkard, he would pre&s;ently &s;hew you a Whoremonger.</P>
<P N="4">(4.) Scorn and contempt of God, good|ne&s;s and good men. <HI>David</HI> a man after Gods own heart, was the Song of the
<PB N="17" REF="9">Drunkards. (<HI>P&s;al.</HI> 69.12.)</P>
<P N="5">(5.) Security under all the&s;e and their o|ther Sins; Death and Judgment never troubling their brains at all. <HI>Take heed</HI> (&s;aith Chri&s;t) <HI>le&s;t at any time.</HI> &amp;c. <HI>and &s;o that day come upon you unawares;</HI> in <HI>Luk.</HI> 21.34. The&s;e &s;ins (the Spirit of God him&s;elf being witne&s;s) are the ordinary re|&s;ults of the &s;in of Drunkenne&s;s.</P>
<P>But &s;econdly, (2.) Our di&s;po&s;ition to all Sins what&s;oever when we are not &s;ober. This will appear</P>
<P N="1">1. By &s;ome general Con&s;iderations.</P>
<P N="2">2. By a view of all the Commandments of God.</P>
<P N="1">1. Con&s;ider we in general, three Things, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<P N="1">(1.) The Seeds and principles of all Sins, are in our polluted natures, and as carnal and unregenerate we are capable of com|mitting them. Whatever hath been in any mans practice, is by nature in every mans bo&s;om. As the plot of all di&s;ea&s;es lies in the humors of the body, &s;o the &s;eeds of all Sins in the Corruptions of the Soul. None I think will deny, but that every prohibiti|on of any kind of Sin which we have in Scripture, belongs to all, be it Sodomy, Ince&s;t, Bla&s;phemy, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> A &s;ufficient Argu|ment that every mans nature is &s;ubject to it.</P>
<PB N="18" REF="10">
<P N="2">(2.) That the&s;e Lu&s;ts do not actually break out into all the Sins that they are big with, is from &s;ome re&s;traint or other that is laid upon us, when by &s;hame, or fear, or natural Con&s;cience, or the like, our corruptions are rein'd in. If water or any other heavy body doth not at any time move down-ward, 'tis not becau&s;e it hath not a natural inclination &s;o to do, but be|cau&s;e &s;omething or other hinders it.</P>
<P N="3">(3). Drunkenne&s;s throws all the&s;e re|&s;traints off. Shame is, <HI>rei turpiter actae.</HI> And what &s;eems un&s;eemly to a man that cannot di&s;cern between good and evil? He that being Sober is not a&s;hamed to be drunk, how &s;hould he being drunk, be a&s;ha|med of any thing? That is, he that be|ing a Man is not a&s;hamed to turn him|&s;elf into a Swine, how &s;hould he being a Swine be a&s;hamed to wallow in the mire? Fear ari&s;eth from the apprehen&s;ion of &s;ome evil likely to fall upon us; there ari&s;eth from too much drink, too thick a vapour to &s;ee any &s;uch thing. <HI>In praelia trudit inermem.</HI> 'Twill put a man up|on any thing without fear or wit. And as for Con&s;cience, that is, <HI>cum &s;cientia,</HI> which is no more (if &s;o much) em|ployed in a Drunkard th&ocirc; he be awake, than in a Sober per&s;on when he is a&s;leep.
<PB N="19" REF="10">'Tis a practical Syllogi&s;m, which a man in that Condition is as good at, as an A&s;&s;e is to play a Le&s;&s;on upon the Harp.</P>
<P N="2">2. View all the Commandments of God, and &s;ee which of them it is that a Drunk|ard is not di&s;po&s;ed to tran&s;gre&s;s. For the</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>Precept,</HI> forbidding us to have any other Gods but one, again&s;t which we &s;in, when what is due to God we be&s;tow upon any thing el&s;e: and &s;o the Drink, the Throat, the Belly, the Companions of a Drunkard, are his Gods, the&s;e have his Af|fections, his Time, his E&s;tate; the&s;e he &s;acrificeth to, and &s;erveth and loves with all his heart, with all his &s;oul, with all his mind, and with all his &s;trength. Yea, which is more gro&s;s, &s;et up an Idol of what &s;tuff you will, and what will &s;ooner qualifie a per&s;on for the wor&s;hip of it, than drink will? In <HI>Ho&s;ea</HI> 4.11. you have the people given to Drunkenne&s;s, and &s;ee what follows in <HI>v.</HI> 12, 13.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>Precept,</HI> forbidding Will-wor&s;hip and Super&s;tition. Are any in the world more inclined to this than per&s;ons of loo&s;e, lewd licentious, and drunken principles? Tho&s;e that care not whether they &s;erve God at all, or not, are not wont to be over-&s;crupulous, how they &s;erve him. For the</P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>Precept,</HI> how many common drunk|ards
<PB N="20" REF="11">do you know in the world, that are not withall common Swearers? Their throat indeed is ordinarily a thorow-fare for Ale and Oaths, where Almighty God, and his very good Creatures are abu&s;ed by turns. And of this let Experience be Judge. For the</P>
<P N="4">4. <HI>Precept.</HI> When per&s;ons given to this vice are at Liberty, this day is pitcht upon to chu&s;e. It is ob&s;erved in one of our Homilies, that upon the Lords day the Devil was more &s;erved and God more di&s;|honoured than upon all the week be&s;ides: which &s;ome Synods have taken notice of, and complained again&s;t, de&s;iring the Ma|gi&s;trate that Games and Drinking-matches upon that day might be re&s;trained: (<HI>Heylin Hi&s;t: Sab.</HI> part 2. C. 6.)</P>
<P N="5">5. <HI>Precept.</HI> Can drunken Superiours or Inferiors di&s;charge the Duties they owe one to another? Pray, what Duty is it in Parents, Husbands, Ma&s;ters, Mini&s;ters, Magi&s;trates, Children, Wives, Servants, People that drink doth qualifie them for? Yea, what &s;in as to the&s;e Relations, that it is not ready to put them upon? It makes Parents grievous, and Children rebellious, the Husband like a Lion, and the Wife like a Sow, Ma&s;ters intolerable, Servants u&s;e|le&s;s, Mini&s;ters odious, &s;otti&s;h, and able
<PB N="21" REF="11">to do no good, and the People as un|able to retain any; Magi&s;trates not able to bear the Sword: how &s;hould they, when they are not able to bear them|&s;elves? And the People under them lo&s;t to all good order.</P>
<P N="6">6. <HI>Precept.</HI> How many Murders have been committed by men in their Drunken|ne&s;s? <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> reports of one that killed his own Father and mortally wounded two of his own Si&s;ters. (<HI>A Lap.</HI> in <HI>Dan.</HI> 5.2.) <HI>Alexander</HI> in a drunken fit killed <HI>Clytus</HI> his mo&s;t familiar Friend. As for modern in&s;tances of Blood and Ale mingled toge|ther, there be but too many.</P>
<P N="7">7. <HI>Precept.</HI> How prone we are, being overcome with drink, to be overcome of Lu&s;t, you heard before.</P>
<P N="8">8. <HI>Precept,</HI> requireth an endeavour by all Ju&s;t and lawful means to procure, pre|&s;erve and further the wealth and outward e&s;tate of our &s;elves and others, and forbids whatever cour&s;es may tend to the contra|ry. He hat doubts whether Drunkenne&s;s be a breach of this Commandment, is hard|ly Sober. But more of this afterwards.</P>
<P N="9">9. <HI>Precept.</HI> I Shall reckon up &s;ome of tho&s;e &s;ins that are again&s;t this Commandment, and let any man that is out of his Liquor call to mind, whether he hath not been or|dinarily
<PB N="22" REF="12">guilty of them when he was in it. <HI>viz.</HI> Lying, Slandering, Backbiting, De|tracting, Whi&s;pering, Scoffing, Reviling, ra&s;h Cen&s;uring, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and whatever is inju|rious to the good name of our Neighbours. And for the</P>
<P N="10">10. <HI>Precept;</HI> It forbiddeth all inordi|nate lu&s;tings and motions of the heart; which exce&s;s of drink is known to in|flame and &s;tir up in us as much as any thing. Add hereunto, that every Precept commanding any Duty, commands with|all that we u&s;e the means and helps that may further us in it. Drunkenne&s;s makes us unfit to u&s;e any. And every precept forbidding any &s;in, forbids withall the means temptations and occa&s;ions that may put us upon it; and Drunkenne&s;s putteth us under an incapacity of avoiding other means of &s;inning, and is withall a prin|cipal means it &s;elf; and &s;o becomes not &s;o much a tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion of this or that particular Precept, as a general violation of the whole Law.&mdash;</P>
<P>So (3.) is Drunkenne&s;s a &s;in that doth di&s;po&s;e us to all other Sins. And</P>
<P N="4">(4.) Doth indi&s;po&s;e us to Repentance. As to the Act of Drunkenne&s;s, I think no body will que&s;tion it; a habit of it puts a per&s;on under a very great indi&s;po|&s;edne&s;s
<PB N="23" REF="12">to repent, and turn from his &s;ins unto God. For</P>
<P N="1">(1.) 'Tis a be&s;otting Sin, as you heard before, abating our Intellectuals at a &s;ad rate, and &s;o rendring us the more uncapa|ble of apprehending what the Word of God doth pre&s;s us with in order to our Con|ver&s;ion; and when a &s;otti&s;hne&s;s is volunta|rily contracted, and contracted by &s;o &s;wini&s;h a Sin as this, how Ju&s;tly may the Lord be provoked never to cure it? But</P>
<P N="2">(2.) 'Tis a Sin that works us up to an high degree of Security under it &s;elf and the re&s;t of our &s;ins, as you al&s;o heard from <HI>Luke</HI> 21.34. And &s;o the Word of God leaves no impre&s;&s;ion upon us. E|ternity of torments in Hell, with all the fire and brim&s;tone that the Scripture &s;peaks of, either come not near our Con&s;cien|ces at all, or if they do, are &s;oon quencht and put out again with a cup of Ale. How many men be there, that the greate&s;t part of their lives have been divided (I will not &s;ay equally) between Hearing and Drinking, Sermons and Ale-hou&s;es, and yet continue to be &s;o to this day! And whence is this, but that they leave all they hear behind them, or are able to drown it pre&s;ently in the bottom of a Tub. How many times have we heard
<PB N="24" REF="13">that Drunkards are by name among&s;t them that &s;hall not inherit the Kingdom of God? That he that believeth not &s;hall be damned, that repenteth not &s;hall peri&s;h, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and yet neither Sobriety, nor Faith, nor Repentance, never came &s;eriou&s;ly into our thoughts? Into &s;o deep a &s;leep as well of the Mind as of the Body doth this Sin lull us.</P>
<P N="3">(3.) 'Tis a per&s;evering Sin, having a certain kind of Witchcraft in it, inticing us not to give it over; when we have drunk our &s;elves a&s;leep, as &s;oon as we <HI>awake we will &s;eek it yet again,</HI> as <HI>Prov.</HI> 23.35. The Spirit of God that knows very well our di&s;po&s;ition, makes this our Language, in <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 56.12. <HI>Come,</HI> &amp;c. It is a Sin that many Per&s;ons go reeling under the guilt of to their very grave, and 'tis grown into an Argument for the Innocency of it, at lea&s;t as to mens health, that there be more old Drunkards than Phy&s;itians. I have read of four old men, that undertook to drink each of them as many boles as they had lived years; and according|ly the younge&s;t of them took off 58. the &s;econd 63. the third 87. and the olde&s;t of all 92. (<HI>Berclay, Sum: Bon.</HI> P. 33.) Tho&s;e Sins that we are &s;o indi&s;po&s;ed to for&s;ake, do mightily indi&s;po&s;e us to
<PB N="25" REF="13">Repentance, a great part of which Duty is to leave and abhorre the Sins we repent of. Judge then if Sobriety be not a Du|ty that we owe to our Souls, and Drun|kenne&s;s a Sin again&s;t them.</P>
<P N="3">(3.) Again&s;t our Bodies, the health and Life of which we are bound to endeavour the pre&s;ervation of, and to do nothing that may bring di&s;ea&s;es or death upon us, unle&s;s we would be guilty of &s;elf-Murder: Di&s;ea&s;es that are the ordinary effects of Drunkenne&s;s Phy&s;itians tell us are &s;uch as the&s;e; Crudities, Oppitations; but we need name none in particular, when they tell us that it Strangles Nature, and per|verts the whole temperature of the body. How many examples have we of this and that di&s;ea&s;e contracted by Drunkenne&s;s! <HI>Cleomenes</HI> the <HI>Lacedemonian, ad in&s;aniam redactus e&s;t,</HI> was brought by it to a Frenzie and madne&s;s; <HI>Lacydes</HI> the Philo&s;opher to a Pal&s;ie; <HI>Agro</HI> a King to a mortal Plurifie; <HI>Ennius</HI> the Poet to the Gout, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> And many examples have we of Death in the Pot, I mean of per&s;ons &s;lain by their Drun|kenne&s;s, or in it.</P>
<P N="1">(1.) By it, Drink and Vengance being their onely executioners. <HI>Anacreon</HI> the Poet, <HI>Dum liberius indulgeret,</HI> was choak't. <HI>Arte&s;ilas</HI> the Philo&s;opher, <HI>cum vinum im|moderat&egrave;
<PB N="26" REF="14">bibi&s;&s;et, obiit. Attila &agrave; vino ple|nus, &s;uffocatus, &amp; &s;ubito mortuus e&s;t. Proma|chus</HI> the <HI>Macedonian</HI> drank at &s;uch a rate, that <HI>Alexander</HI> gave him a talent for his la|bour. <HI>Sed triduo tantum &s;upervixit:</HI> He died within three dayes after.</P>
<P N="2">(2.) In it, as <HI>Elah</HI> King of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> 1 <HI>Kings</HI> 16.9. <HI>Amnon,</HI> 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 13.28, 29. The <HI>Phili&s;tines,</HI> as <HI>Judg.</HI> 16.25.30. Three fellowes in <HI>Germany,</HI> after they had taken in their Cups after the bruti&s;h manner of that Countrey, were the next morning found &s;trangled and dead, and &s;o were buried un|der the <HI>Gallows. (Bercley, Sum. Bon. P.</HI> 26.) <HI>Bono&s;us</HI> a Drunken Emperour hang'd him&s;elf, of whom it was &s;aid, Not a man hang'd up but a Barrel, (<HI>Theat.</HI> 804.) So|briety is then a Duty that we owe (3.) To our Bodies: and</P>
<P N="4">(4.) Again&s;t our Families, every part of them. <HI>Ex. gr.</HI></P>
<P N="1">(1.) Again&s;t our Parents. Our Fathers did not beget us, our Mothers did not bear us ten months in their wombs, and twenty in their Arms, to qualifie us for an Ale-hou&s;e; they did not wake for us, and work for us, and care for us, and pray for us, and do tho&s;e Offices which they would have loathed to do for any others, nor breed us and provide for us, that we
<PB REF="14">&s;hould &s;o requite them, to grieve their hearts, and make them weary of their lives, and give them cau&s;e to wi&s;h that we had never been born. A Sin it is ly|ing &s;o heavy upon the Spirits of Parents, that the Law of God did heretofore in pity provide them a way to be rid of &s;uch Children. See <HI>Deut.</HI> 21.19, 20, 21. An in&s;upportable cro&s;s mu&s;t it needs be that can prevail with parents to &s;eek the death of their Children; yet this it &s;eems was &s;uppo&s;ed enough to do it, it being better to &s;ee them once buried than &s;o often drowned, for when they are in their graves they know the wor&s;t of them.</P>
<P N="2">(2.) Wives, who were very ill-advi&s;ed if their purpo&s;e was not to be married to Men, and not unto Bea&s;ts? Doth not Drunkenne&s;s wa&s;te their goods, as well as our own; make their lives bitter; ex|po&s;e them to Temptations; render our Society at lea&s;t not de&s;irable? Can we dwell with them according to knowledge, when we have lo&s;t our under&s;tanding? Pray for them and in&s;truct them when we are not able to &s;peak? govern them when we cannot govern our &s;elves? give them honour as weaker ve&s;&s;els, when we have degraded our &s;elves into much weaker? Not to mention tho&s;e abu&s;es that we are
<PB REF="15">very apt to offer even unto our own fle&s;h, when we have lo&s;t our Sobriety.</P>
<P N="3">(3.) Again&s;t our Children, who&s;e food and raiment and education contributes to to make up every drunken reckoning that we have a &s;hare in; be&s;ides that migh|ty abomination of Example that we &s;et before them; Children being extreamly apt to imitate their Parents. How many have in&s;tead of laying up for their Chil|dren, drunk up from them what the good Providence of God had bountifully provi|ded, employing all their husbandry in turn|ing whatever they have into Ale, and lea|ving their Po&s;terity to &s;eek their bread out of de&s;olate places!</P>
<P>Sobriety is a Dvty we owe (4.) To our Families; and</P>
<P N="5">(5.) Again&s;t our E&s;tates. <HI>He that lo|veth Wine &s;hall not be rich. (Prov.</HI> 21-17.) That perhaps is no great matter, but <HI>the drunkard and the Glutton &s;hall come to poverty;</HI> and <HI>drowzine&s;s &s;hall cloath a man with rags,</HI> in <HI>Prov.</HI> 23.21. But it is clear|ly our Duty to be providently careful to get and keep tho&s;e things that are nece&s;&s;a|ry and convenient for the &s;u&s;tentation of our nature, and &s;uitable to our condition. See <HI>Pro.</HI> 27.23. <HI>ad finem.</HI> Now is not daily &s;acrificing and the offering up of
<PB N="29" REF="15">drink-offerings to an in&s;atiable throat, the way to any &s;uch thing.</P>
<P N="6">(6.) Again&s;t our Neighbours, to whom in our drunken fits we are very ready to be injurious many wayes.</P>
<P N="1">(1.) To intice them to the &s;ame Sin. Men that are of ea&s;ie and Ductile natures, upon whom there is any probability of pre|vailing, can hardly follow their callings in quietne&s;s for &s;olicitations of this nature. A man going to be drunk is like a man ready to be drowned, who will catch hold of any one that is next him, that if it be po&s;&s;ible they may &s;ink together. Drunk|ards and good Fellows would not &s;o pro|perly be two names of the &s;ame per&s;ons, were it a Sin that is ordinarily committed by one alone. And that hand&s;omer notion of Company-keeping under which it is wont to pa&s;s, would not be a language &s;o ea&s;ily under&s;tood.</P>
<P N="2">(2.) Whom are not our Tongues in &s;uch a ca&s;e ready to fall upon, in Lies, Rail|ing, Slanders, and what not? I have read of a young man, being invited to an entertainment, &s;pake very freely again&s;t the Bi&s;hop, for which being afterwards que&s;tioned, made only this reply, That if he &s;hould be in the &s;ame condition again, he thought he &s;hould fall about the ears of
<PB N="30" REF="16">the twelve Apo&s;tles them&s;elves, in ca&s;e they came in his way. (<HI>Theat. P.</HI> 804.) <HI>David</HI> &s;peaks of &s;ome <HI>wicked</HI> men, that <HI>their tongue goeth through the earth. P&s;al.</HI> 73.9. Our's are never fitted to travel at &s;uch a rate, as when we are able to move them freely in our mouths; when we are lea&s;t able to go, they are readie&s;t to run, and to run de|&s;cant upon whom&s;oever they plea&s;e. One is a <HI>fool,</HI> another a <HI>knave;</HI> one <HI>covetous,</HI> another <HI>proud,</HI> every one is any thing that they plea&s;e to &s;tyle him. One broacheth the cen&s;ure, another &s;wears 'tis true, a third drinks upon it to confirm it. This is the ordinary di&s;cipline of an Ale-Hou&s;e, where being &s;ate at Bench, they take upon them to Judge the world.</P>
<P N="3">(3.) To the &s;oberer &s;ort of people our Debauchedne&s;s is a continual offence; we fetch tears from their eyes, and &s;end grief to their hearts, and if we come near them, do even &s;tink in their no&s;trils. Sobriety is a Duty we owe (6.) to our Neighbours.</P>
<P N="7">(7.) Again&s;t the Kingdom, rendring us u&s;ele&s;s in our &s;everal &s;tations for the publick good. Drunkenne&s;s</P>
<P N="1">(1.) Po&s;itively is the occa&s;ion of much evil.</P>
<P N="2">(2.) Negatively, doth altogether un|fit us for the doing of any good.</P>
<PB N="31" REF="16">
<P N="1">(1.) Is the occa&s;ion of much evil; I mean of &s;uffering, being it &s;elf &s;o great an evil of Sin; calling down the Judgments of God upon a whole Kingdom, and in par|ticular a &s;carcity of tho&s;e Creatures which are abu&s;ed; in <HI>E&s;ay</HI> 5.11, 12. the Sin, <HI>v.</HI> 13. the Judgment, in <HI>Joel</HI> 1.5.10, 11, 12. So we devour the plenty, and &s;wallow down the nece&s;&s;ary provi&s;ions of a whole Kingdom.</P>
<P N="2">(2.) It unfits us for the doing of any good, for Coun&s;el, or Action, in Peace, or War, in a private Capacity, or a Pub|lick, to make Laws, or to execute, or to keep them. Whether the mind, or the body, the head, or the hand, be to be employed, we have not the u&s;e of either to any purpo&s;e. If we be Rulers, mi&s;erable is the condition of tho&s;e that be under us; as <HI>Eccle&s;.</HI> 10.16, 17. <HI>Woe, &amp;c. Prov.</HI> 31.4, 5. If we be private per&s;ons, no man that is wi&s;e and good will have any Society with us. <HI>Cato</HI> the Elder being ask't why he rejected the Acquaintance of a Drunk|ard that did earne&s;tly de&s;ire it, <HI>Becau&s;e,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>Vivere non po&s;&s;um cum eo, qui melius et &s;ubtilius Palato quam Corde &s;entit.</HI> I cannot live with one who hath more Sen&s;e in his Throat, than in his Heart, or his Head; who is good at nothing but
<PB N="32" REF="17">at Swallowing, and is ever wa&s;hing down his Brains into his Belly. Sobriety is a Duty we owe.</P>
<P N="8">(8.) Again&s;t the Church, Drunkenne&s;s being a Scandal to the Go&s;pel, an Offence to &s;uch as de&s;ire to live &s;oberly, righteou&s;|ly and godly in this pre&s;ent World. And the Per&s;on guilty &s;o odious a member (if he mu&s;t needs pa&s;s for one) that Chri&s;tians are commanded not to eat with him, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5, 11. But are enjoyned to put away from among them&s;elves &s;uch a wicked per&s;on, <HI>v.</HI> 13. You &s;ee I hope by this time, that Sobriety is the Duty of Chri&s;tians.</P>
<P>See now how little rea&s;on men have as to Con&s;cience and Duty, to put it to the Que&s;tion, whether they be Drunk; To call for Proofs that they are, and urge Ar|guments that they are not; that they are able to give a man an an&s;wer; if they lie in the High-way, are able to hold up their hands if a Cart be like to be driven over them, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> The que&s;tion &s;hould be, Whe|ther we be Sober? That is our Duty. Whether we have not drunk more than would have an&s;wered tho&s;e Ends which God ordained Drink for? If we have, 'tis no matter, whether the Laws, or Cu&s;tom of men call it Drunkenne&s;s or no; we have made a breach upon Sobriety, and &s;o have
<PB N="33" REF="17">failed in a great Duty. It is exce&s;&s;ive and needle&s;s Drinking that is the Sin, the di|&s;temper that ordinarily follows is part of the Puni&s;hment. There is not only a <HI>Woe to the Drunkards of Ephraim,</HI> (<HI>E&s;a.</HI> 28.1.) but al&s;o a <HI>Woe to them that are mighty to drink Wine,</HI> &amp;c. (<HI>E&s;a.</HI> 5.22.) There be &s;ome able to carry Drink at a noble rate, and yet come not behind tho&s;e in the Sin of Drinking who with a great deal le&s;s lie wallowing in their Vomit. I have read of one <HI>Aeraclides,</HI> who would invite one com|pany to Breakfa&s;t, another to Dinner, a third to Supper, <HI>quibus omnibus &s;ine inter&s;ti|tio &s;ufficiebat &s;olus,</HI> and hold out in this ex|erci&s;e with them all. (<HI>Theat.</HI> 801.) And of <HI>Cleio</HI> a woman, who was not only able to out-drink tho&s;e of her own Sex, but men too; <HI>Omnes &s;uperavit:</HI> She conquered all that &s;he encountred. <HI>Ibid.</HI> And of <HI>Pi&s;o,</HI> that &s;ate in the Court of <HI>Tiberius</HI> two dayes and two nights drinking continually, and never &s;tirred from the place: Of <HI>Nivellius Torquatus,</HI> who was Knighted by <HI>Tiberius</HI> for drinking three Gallons of Wine at one draught. And how much &s;oever he drank, was never known at any time to falter with his Tongue, never ea&s;ed him&s;elf by Vomiting: (<HI>Hakwell Apol. p.</HI> 413.) The Lord <HI>Burghly</HI> in &s;ome precepts to his Son,
<PB N="34" REF="18">tells him, That he never heard other com|mendation a&s;cribed to a Drunkard, than the well bearing of his Drink, which he thinks is fitter for a Brewers Hor&s;e, or a Dray-mans back. Let Chri&s;tians remem|ber, that it is their Duty not to be Drunk, but to be Sober.</P>
<P>Condemn we therefore their Practice who are at any time guilty of tran&s;gre&s;&s;ing the Limits of Sobriety, either in their Per|&s;ons, or acce&s;&s;ary to it in other men: And acce&s;&s;aries we may ju&s;tly account all the&s;e that follow, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<P N="1">(1.) All keepers of hou&s;es of Entertain|ment, that knowingly &s;uffer it, promote it, get that Employment on purpo&s;e for it.</P>
<P N="1">(1.) That knowingly &s;uffer it: mo&s;t of which &s;ort of People will let men have as much as they will, &s;carce any that will not give them more than they ought, provi|ded they pay for it. <HI>Qui non vetat peccare, cum po&s;&s;it, jubet.</HI></P>
<P N="2">(2.) That promote it: who will u&s;e twenty devices to draw men on, and a|mong&s;t the re&s;t, rather be drunk them&s;elves than &s;uffer their Gue&s;ts to be Sober, to en|crea&s;e their Reckoning.</P>
<P N="3">(3.) That procure for them&s;elves this Employment of &s;et putpo&s;e: which all tho&s;e mu&s;t needs be interpreted to do, who
<PB N="35" REF="18">are not able to &s;hew any other end that may be propounded. The be&s;t that can be &s;aid is, that 'tis to get a Livelihood in the World; &s;o may Thieves that rob upon the High-way, &s;o may common Strumpets, that pro&s;titute them&s;elves to every comer, &s;ay, 'tis to get their Living. He that wills the end, wills the means; and he that pitches upon a &s;inful means when many lawful ones are before him, chu&s;eth &s;in, and in our ca&s;e makes a Trade of that which I am &s;ure can never be a Calling.</P>
<P N="2">(2.) All Magi&s;trates that are guilty in ei|ther of the&s;e three Ca&s;es, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<P N="1">(1.) Of Licen&s;ing Ale-hou&s;es that be needle&s;s, which is to make provi&s;ion for the Sin of Drunkenne&s;s, to fulfill the Lu&s;ts thereof: and le&s;t Sobriety &s;hould be too trouble&s;ome a Burden, to provide men of opportunities how and where to be rid of it.</P>
<P N="2">(2.) Of not Suppre&s;&s;ing tho&s;e that Li|cen&s;e them&s;elves, and of not puni&s;hing tho&s;e that are di&s;orderly, and di&s;counte|nancing their pro&s;ecutors, rendring it (as a godly man long &s;ince expre&s;&s;ed it) as dif|ficult and hot a Service to put down an Ale|hou&s;e as to take <HI>Flu&s;hing.</HI></P>
<P N="3">(3.) Of not Executing the Laws upon Delinquents in point of Tipling: ten Groats every time, for Tipling in an Ale hou&s;e,
<PB N="36" REF="19">and five Shillings for being drunk, would either make men much the Soberer, or not &s;uffer them to be otherwi&s;e at &s;o cheap a rate.</P>
<P N="3">(3.) All tho&s;e that encourage the Sin of Drunkenne&s;s: and this is done more wayes than one, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<P N="1">(1.) By Commending the Sin it &s;elf as very good; in &s;ome ca&s;es for the Body, but for the mind 'tis <HI>Cos Ingenij,</HI> the Whet&s;tone of Wit, a rai&s;er of Mens Parts, a great con|tributer to Eloquence, Invention, Ingenui|ty, and what not? No Wit reli&s;hing at a|ny excellent rate, nor at all well dre&s;s'd, un|le&s;s it be parboyl'd in Ale. <HI>Po&s;&s;um nil ego Sobrius, bibenti &s;uccurrunt mihi quindecim Poetae:</HI> &s;aid <HI>Martial</HI> of him&s;elf, (<HI>L.</HI> 11. <HI>Epig.</HI> 7.) He was no body when he was So|ber, but Drunk, at lea&s;t 15 Poets &s;trong.
<Q><L>Ennius ip&s;e Pater nunquam ni&s;i potus ad Arma</L>
<L>Pro&s;iluit dicenda,&mdash;&amp;c.</L> <BIBL><HI>Theat. 803.</HI></BIBL></Q> Old <HI>Ennius</HI> never &s;et him&s;elf to making of Ver&s;es, till he was in his Cups. <HI>Foecundi Calices,</HI> &amp;c. It makes men eloquent by no allowance. <HI>In Proelia trudit inermem.</HI> Va|liant beyond mea&s;ure; indeed, <HI>effieit egre|gios,</HI> &amp;c. It qualifies men for any thing, I know not how many thou&s;and Leagues beyond Sobriety. If this be true, it doubtle&s;s concerns only tho&s;e men who&s;e Souls are
<PB N="37" REF="19">in their Bellies, and who&s;e abilities mu&s;t be barrell'd up for fear of &s;poiling, and broacht when they have occa&s;ion to u&s;e them.</P>
<P N="2">(2.) By propounding to and be&s;towing Rewards upon men for the excellent faculty they have in Drinking. <HI>Alexander potandi Vinum Certamen in&s;tituit;</HI> among&s;t other worthy exerci&s;es, appointed a drinking Match, wherein the Conquerour was to have a Talent, the &s;econd man 30 <HI>l.</HI> and the third 10 <HI>l. Mithridates</HI> King of <HI>Pontus, proemia plus haurientibus proponebat. Tiberius</HI> advanced <HI>Pi&s;o</HI> to the Provo&s;t&s;hip of the Ci|ty, and <HI>Pomponius</HI> to the Pre&s;ident&s;hip of <HI>Syria,</HI> for the great gift they had in exce&s;|&s;ive quaffing: (<HI>Hackw. Apolog.</HI> 419.) If no &s;uch Examples can be found among&s;t Chri&s;tians, 'tis &s;o much the better.</P>
<P N="3">(3.) By countenancing tho&s;e lewd and debauched per&s;ons that are guilty of this Sin, when we give them at lea&s;t an equal Re&s;pect with other men; when we give them as many good words, afford them as much of our Society, report them to be as hone&s;t men as any others.</P>
<P N="4">(4.) All tho&s;e that engage and provoke others to that Exce&s;s which otherwi&s;e they would not run into; as by any means to &s;ee them&s;elves pledged, to have &s;uch Quanti|ties
<PB N="38" REF="20">and to &s;uch a number drunk up, to look upon it as a Soloeci&s;m to make a dry bar|gain, or to conclude it any where but in an Ale-hou&s;e, which many times makes it a great que&s;tion whether there be more of the Bea&s;t-market without doors or within: to make drink upon all occa&s;ions the com|mon Entertainment one of another, upon no greater rea&s;on, as I know, than to make it of Bread, or Money, or good Coun&s;el, or Phy&s;ick, or a Bed to &s;leep upon, of ei|ther of which we may have as much need as we have of Drink. And above all, this is done by that Heatheni&s;h Cu&s;tom of drink|ing Health to a dear Friend, a great Per|&s;on, to the Prince him&s;elf, which many Per&s;ons think they ought not to refu&s;e upon pain of forfeiting their Allegiance: a mo&s;t rea&s;onle&s;s and ridiculous Practice. What in|fluence hath my drinking upon another mans health? May I not as &s;oon eat, or &s;leep, or talk, or dig, or thre&s;h, or buy, or &s;ell his Health as drink it? or is he a jot more concerned in the one than in the other? yea if immoderate and needle&s;s bibbing be (as it is) a &s;in, how much more unlawful is it to &s;wear, or cur&s;e, or lie, or &s;teal a health to a friend, than 'tis to drink it? I called it a Hea|theni&s;h Practice, and &s;o it is, and mo&s;t of the re&s;t but now mentioned. The Pagans had
<PB N="39" REF="20">their <HI>Arbitrum bibendi,</HI> their Ma&s;ter of Mi&s;rule at their drunken meetings, who&s;e office it was to give orders how long, and how much every one mu&s;t drink; they were wont to throw the Die, and to drink according to their Ca&s;ts, to drink &s;o many Healths as there were Letters in their Mi|&s;tre&s;&s;es names. (<HI>Hakw. Apol.</HI> 410.)</P>
<P>The Drunken <HI>Greeks, Deos &amp; Amicos in|ter pocula &s;alutant, nominatim&abque; appellant evacuato Poculo:</HI> Drank whole ones as Healths to their Idols, and to their Friends, making mention of them by name, and ha|ving drunk to any one, took care to have a full Cup delivered him; and would be &s;ure to look to his Liquor. The <HI>Lacedaemonians, eundem Calicem circumagebant</HI>&mdash;would have the &s;ame Cup go round. (<HI>Theat.</HI> 800.) You &s;ee who&s;e Copy we write after; not a word of any &s;uch Practice in <HI>Abraham, I&s;a|ac,</HI> or <HI>Jacob,</HI> in Chri&s;t, <HI>Peter,</HI> or any Saint of God recorded in Scripture&mdash;Declined indeed by all grave and prudent Per&s;ons, who will pray for their Friends Health, but drink only for their own.</P>
<P>Let us for a Conclu&s;ion, <HI>&s;tudy to be Sober.</HI> By way of Motive, let me have leave to pre&s;s you with what we have &s;aid already. Con&s;ider it then</P>
<P N="1">(1.) As it is a Duty we owe unto God.
<PB N="40" REF="21">Doth that nothing prevail with us? who is it that made us, and pre&s;erveth us, and giveth us Life, and Breath, and all things? who &s;pares us, and keeps us out of Hell? who&s;e Patience, and Bounty, and goodne&s;s do we &s;pend upon every day? Is there no Grace, no Gratitude, no good Nature in us, to comply with the God of all our mercies? or if there be not, is not he that denounceth &s;o many Woes again&s;t the contrary Sin, able to bring them all upon our heads? Is he not a <HI>con&s;uming fire, a great God</HI> and <HI>a terrible?</HI> And &s;hall we no more regard the Power of his wrath? or do we think to wet our &s;elves at &s;uch a rate, that the flames of Hell &s;hall not take upon us? Whatever it be, if it be a Duty we owe to God, we are bound to di&s;charge it. How many more Engagements to &s;uch a Duty as this is? we ought to obey &s;hould God command us with <HI>Abraham</HI> to &s;acrifice an only Son; &s;hall we &s;tick at the &s;acrifice of a &s;tinking Lu&s;t? or with the &s;ame <HI>Abraham</HI> to for&s;ake our native Countrey? &s;hall we not for&s;ake a na&s;ty Ale-hou&s;e? In obedience unto God, <HI>Daniel</HI> would pray though he were thrown in to the Lions; in Rebellion again&s;t God, &s;hall we drink though we be thrown into Hell?</P>
<P N="2">(2.) As a Duty to our own Souls. Let us every one con&s;ider what his Soul is
<PB N="41" REF="21">worth; that excellent Piece of God's Work|man&s;hip, created after his own Image, re|deemable by nothing but the blood of his own Son; is this a Soul to be drunk away? To be &s;ent &s;wimming towards the Cham|bers of Death in a tub of Ale? When the Harbour men ordinarily lie in, an Ale hou&s;e, and their loading is nothing but Drink, can the end of their Voiage be any thing but de|&s;truction? This is a Sin, and every Sin is damnable; this is a great Sin, again&s;t the very Law of nature, defacing more of the Image of God in us, than any other Sin that is committable: and when our Trade is in great Sins, our Returns mu&s;t needs be in a great Damnation. It di&s;po&s;eth us unto other Sins. Now doth the Original Cor|ruption of it &s;elf without any help at all, put us (the Lord knows) &s;ufficiently for|ward to any thing that is evil? have we any need to improve it? to dung it and water it ever and anon, that it may bring forth more fruit unto death? And what are the Sins we are apt to reel into when we are Drunk? are they &s;uch Peccadillos, &s;uch &s;mall and venial faults, that we &s;hould not care how often we put our &s;elves into the next capacity of committing them? If it be babling, <HI>of every idle word,</HI> &amp;c. If it be contention, the Apo&s;tle tells us <HI>it brings
<PB N="42" REF="22">forth Confu&s;ion and every evil work,</HI> (<HI>James</HI> 3.) If it be Whoredom and Adultery, God will judge us for it, yea though it be com|mitted no where but in the heart. If it be Contempt and &s;corn of the People of God, <HI>It were better that a Mill-&s;tone,</HI> &amp;c. If it be Security, 'twill bring <HI>&s;udden Destruction up|on us, as Travail upon a woman with Child, and we &s;hall not e&s;cape.</HI> 1 The&s;. 5.3.</P>
<P>But &mdash; <HI>Pauperis e&s;t numerare Pecus:</HI> This Sin is too rich to bring the Revenues of it into any Catalogue. What evil is it that Drunkenne&s;s doth not di&s;po&s;e us to? &s;ha|king off all tho&s;e re&s;traints that &s;hould keep our original Corruption in any order, and putting us into a po&s;ture of breaking every one of Gods Commandments. And if he <HI>that &s;hall break one of the lea&s;t of the&s;e Com|mandments, and &s;hall teach men &s;o, &s;hall be call|ed the lea&s;t in the Kingdom of Heaven,</HI> (<HI>Mat.</HI> 5.19.) he that &s;hall be made fit to break them all, and &s;hall make him&s;elf &s;o, mu&s;t needs di&s;cover an Ambition to be one of the greate&s;t in the Kingdom of Hell. But Re|pentance will help all this: True; but where &s;hall we have it? Repentance is <HI>the gift of God,</HI> and he gives it by means, to the u&s;e of which this Sin doth mightily indi&s;po&s;e us. A belly-ful of Ale and a heart ful of penitent tears, &s;eldom meet together. That God can
<PB N="43" REF="22">turn us, no body doubts; <HI>And &s;uch were &s;ome of you, but,</HI> &amp;c. (1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.11.) is a Go&s;pel In&s;tance that we &s;hould not doubt it; but that he who in all his Life had never yet grace enough to civilize him, &s;hould at la&s;t pre&s;ume to have enough to &s;ave him, is &s;uch a hazard, that no man that knows the worth of a Soul would be per&s;waded to put it upon it for a thou&s;and Worlds.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, is the u&s;e of our Sen&s;es, our Un|der&s;tandings, Rea&s;on, Judgment, Memory of no value, that we &s;hould &s;o often &amp; &s;o ea&s;ily be per&s;waded to deprive our &s;elves of them? Was that <HI>Candle of the Lord</HI> (as <HI>Solomon</HI> calls the Intellectual powers of the Soul, <HI>Pro.</HI> 20.27.) that we &s;hould throw Drink upon it to put it out? Are we weary of our E&s;&s;ences as men, that we have a mind to wa&s;h our &s;elves down into a lower Kind? was God's Judg|ment upon <HI>Nebuchadnezar</HI> &s;uch a Priviledg, that we daily go about to inflict it upon our &s;elves? what harm hath our Rea&s;on and our Under&s;tanding at any time done us, that we mu&s;t needs our &s;elves do execution upon it? have we too much of it when we are &s;ober, that we have any need in the world to abate it by being drunk? At this rate it is that we u&s;e a precious Soul, not only prepare it for de&s;truction hereafter, but degrade it from its glory and excellency in the mean time. Con|&s;ider we Sobriety,</P>
<PB N="44" REF="23">
<P N="3">(3.) As a Duty to our <HI>Bodies,</HI> which be|ing <HI>fearfully and wonderfully made,</HI> (<HI>P&s;.</HI> 139.14.) 'tis a fearful and a wonderful Sin to do any thing that may de&s;troy them, and in a manner unmake them again, and render every member u&s;ele&s;s as to the Services they were appointed. We find in Scripture two glorious Priviledges that even our Bodies are capable of. <HI>Ex. gr.</HI></P>
<P N="1">(1.) To be <HI>members of Chri&s;t,</HI> (1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.15.) Now look upon a body with a &s;wollen tongue, clammed to the roof of an un&s;avoury mouth, a face at once both roa&s;ted and &s;od, eyes gha&s;tly &s;taring in a vertiginous head; reeling to and fro in the &s;treets, lying &s;en&s;e|le&s;s in the Kennel, or &s;wearing, railing, roar|ing, raving, brawling in a Tavern; and ask any one that hath any acquaintance at all with the Temperance, Purity, Meekne&s;s, and Holine&s;s of Chri&s;t, whether this be one of his members, or no, not fit indeed to be a member of <HI>Bridewell,</HI> or of <HI>Bedlam.</HI></P>
<P N="2">(2.) To be <HI>Temples of the Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> (1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.19.) Look upon per&s;ons in the pickle but now mentioned, and will any man &s;ay, <HI>The Temple of the Lord, The Temple of the Lord are the&s;e?</HI> No, the <HI>Temple of God is holy,</HI> (1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.17.) and <HI>res delicata Spiritus Chri&s;ti,</HI> the Spirit of Chri&s;t too de|licate and tender for &s;o na&s;ty a habitation.
<PB N="45" REF="23">God doubtle&s;s will never dwell in us, when no man that loves his Peace or his Stomach will willingly dwell with us. Be&s;ides, what delinquency have our bodies been guilty of, that we &s;hould impo&s;e upon them &s;o &s;evere a Penance as Drunkenne&s;s doth amount to? If they do any thing ami&s;s, 'tis at the in&s;tance of tho&s;e Lu&s;ts that dwell in our hearts; or if they were indeed faulty, be there no other wayes to be revenged upon them but this? Why do we not puni&s;h them with Hunger and Thir&s;t, and Cold and Nakedne&s;s, and Stripes and Impri&s;onment? will nothing do the deed but Ale? If we have a mind to ruin the&s;e hou&s;es of Clay, there be twenty ways, th&ocirc; not fit, yet fitter to he pitcht upon, than this. Let me allude to and vary that of the Apo&s;tle, (<HI>Ro.</HI> 14.20.) <HI>For meat de&s;troy not the work of God.</HI> Our Bodies are of Gods making: For <HI>drink</HI> de&s;troy not the work of God.</P>
<P N="4">(4.) As a Duty to our Families. If we have Parents, is it our Duty to bring down their Gray Hairs with Sorrow to the Grave? And if they have any &s;ence of Pie|ty, no cour&s;e of ours will contribute more to it than this. If we have Wives, they have an intere&s;t in our E&s;tates, that we &s;hould not con&s;ume, and in our company that we &s;hould not deprive them of. If we have Children, is this all the love we can &s;hew them, to un|do
<PB N="46" REF="24">them by our Practice, and debauch them by our example? Briefly, where is our natural Affection to her that is fle&s;h of our fle&s;h, and bone of our bone, and to them that are little Models of our &s;elves, if we can take their Livelyhood out of their mouths, and their contentment out of their hearts, and &s;wallow it down our Throats?</P>
<P N="5">(5.) As a Duty to our <HI>E&s;tates,</HI> which God never gave us to con&s;ume upon our Lu&s;ts, nor that we &s;hould pi&s;s them out a|gain&s;t a wall; the Poor we have always with us, many that are truly and really and ne|ce&s;&s;arily &s;o, who are able to receive what|ever we are able to be&s;tow, without the impairing of our E&s;tates at all; or if this plea&s;e not, becau&s;e it is a Duty, and we have a mind to be Poor, and Mi&s;erable, and Wretched, and Indebted, and Thredbare, and Ragged, and Low&s;ie, and unable to pro|vide Bread, or Drink, or Cloaths, or Call|ings, or a Livelyhood for our Children; and to procure all this in a way of Sin: there be yet, I think many wayes that are better than this to do it by. Some have voluntari|ly left their E&s;tates to others; yea, Kings and Emperors their Kingdomes: why do not we rather leave our E&s;tates, than run out of them? Better go from them, and carry our Health, and Wits, and Sen&s;es, and
<PB N="47" REF="24">Chri&s;tianity along with us, than carry them and the&s;e together to the Tap-head, and there leave them. <HI>Crates</HI> threw all his Goods into the Sea; were not this better than to throw them into our Guts?</P>
<P N="6">(6.) As a Duty to our <HI>Neighbours.</HI> Shall we put our &s;elves into &s;uch a po&s;ture, that nothing but a Miracle can keep us from abu|&s;ing them? 'Tis <HI>Pauls</HI> Exhortation, <HI>Rom.</HI> 15.2. <HI>Let every one of us plea&s;e his Neighbour for his good to Edification.</HI> If we plea&s;e any one by our Exce&s;s, we are &s;ure 'tis not for his good, and it doth only <HI>aedificare ad Ge|hennam;</HI> if it edifie at all, 'tis to the nether|mo&s;t Hell, by giving him an occa&s;ion to practi&s;e, or like, or not reprove, or not mourn for what Gods Soul abhorres.</P>
<P N="7">(7.) As a Duty to the <HI>Kingdom,</HI> the Land of our Nativity, where we have had our Birth, our Breeding, &s;o many good things as a Land flowing with Milk and Honey can well afford us; the welfare whereof we are bound to promote, and to be Serviceable to the concernments of it with all our might; and can we think that this can be done by Drinking? doth not that make us unfit for any thing? I have read that King <HI>Antigonus</HI> being very drunk, and meeting with <HI>Zeno</HI> the Philo&s;opher, wi&s;h'd him to command what he would of him, and bound it with
<PB N="48" REF="25">an Oath, <HI>&s;e pre&s;titurum quicquid po&s;tularet.</HI> (<HI>Theat.</HI> 802.) <HI>Zeno</HI> replyed, <HI>Abi et Vome;</HI> Go your way and &s;pue. To de&s;ire any thing el&s;e of him, had been to no purpo&s;e, being fit for that onely. Should a drunkard offer his Service to the Kingdom, and de&s;ire an Employment, if <HI>Zeno</HI> were to give him his Commi&s;&s;ion, he would di&s;patch it in a very few words, <HI>Abi et Vome;</HI> Command him to Vomit, or Sleep, as being fit for no|thing el&s;e. But th&ocirc; this &s;hould be enough to &s;hame us into <HI>Sobriety,</HI> that otherwi&s;e we are good for nothing, there is in our guilt of this Sin an Addition of much more; we are a Plague and a Cur&s;e to the whole Nation, by Drinking down the Judgments of God upon it.</P>
<P N="8">(8.) As a Duty to the <HI>Church.</HI> Will any body that hath read the Bible, believe us to be Chri&s;tians? Did Chri&s;t ever give us any Licen&s;e in his Word, or Encouragement in his Practice for &s;uch a cour&s;e? Doth not the Law cur&s;e it, the Go&s;pel condemn it, and all that fear God abhorre it? Is it not our Duty, or is this the way to adorn the Doctrine of God our Saviour?</P>
<P>I might ea&s;ily add many Arguments more; but this &s;hall &s;uffice as to the fir&s;t Branch of the Point&mdash;<HI>Sobriety of Body.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
