A practical commentary, or an exposition with observations, reasons, and uses upon the first…

1 It will bring you to poverty, that you shall be suddenly Beggars, and that without remedy.

2 It distempers your Bodies and Stomachs.

3 It will make your Souls naked and ragged; that is plain, the field of the sluggard is over-grown with Thorns and Thistles, all your impatience, vanity, idleness, all your dullness, unprofitableness in your life, it springs from your sluggishness of heart, you have not stirred up your spirits.

3 It will make your Souls naked and ragged; that is plain, the field of the sluggard is over-grown with Thorns and Thistles, all your impatience, vanity, idlenesse, all your dullnesse, unprofitablenesse in your life, it springs from your sluggishnesse of heart, you have not stirred up your spirits.

5 Such as do their business with a slack unbent hand, cursed be that man; if you see a sluggish hand, God leaves him to himself, he curses both himself and his business; therefore be diligent and fruitful and strengthen your selves, you shall find the blessing of God going along with you, prospering your estates and Souls.

5 Such as do their businesse with a slack unbent hand, cursed be that man; if you see a sluggish hand, God leaves him to himself, he curses both himselfe and his businesse; therefore be diligent and fruitful and strengthen your selves, you shall finde the blessing of God going along with you, prospering your estates and Souls.

Thus we see what are the Lusts of the flesh; they are such as the body affects and is satisfied with, as intemperancy, incontinency, love of pastime, and love of idleness and sleep, these are the lusts of the flesh.

Thus we see what are the Lusts of the flesh; they are such as the body affects and is satisfied with, as intemperancy, incontinency, love of pastime, and love of idlenesse and sleep, these are the lusts of the flesh.

Now for the Reasons why we should wean our selves from these Lusts, which may be as so many motives to dissuade us from them.

Now for the Reasons why we should wean our selves from these Lusts, which may be as so many motives to disswade us from them.

Rea. 1 All these Lusts are so many Enemies to our Souls, 1 Pet. 3.11. they are the diseases of our Spirits, now if we satisfy any disease in our body, we feed the disease and make it worse; So we cannot satisfy any of these Lusts, but the more we feed them the stronger they grow: They are like the Dropsy, the more you drink the more you may, so satisfying increases the disease, the more you obey a Tyrant and submit your selves to him, the more authority he claims over you, and the more will be Lord it over you: so if you once give up your selves to obey these lusts and let them reign, they will Lord it over you, and keep you in greater subjection, Rom. 6.12. so that when a man pleads for his Lust, but this once that I may fulfil my Lust, and I hope I shall never do it again, but I will bid farewell to it: if I now take leave to go into evil Company for one merry meeting, I shall hereafter deal with them no more, ⟨p. 130⟩why take this course against a Lust, do but once give way to any Lust, and instead of satisfying it, you will add fuel to it, this will be a way to engage you to a further commission of that lust; many have a conceit, may I but now tipple with a customer and get a good bargain I will give it over; why, give but once way to a lust, and it will make such a gap, that all the lusts in the Forrest may break in, make but one little crevice in the bank of the Sea, thinking to abate the rage of the Sea; why it will make it wider and overflow all, so if you give but a little way to a lust, to a little Gluttony, or Intemperancy, you will never give over, modo & modo, non habent modum, the more fuel you give, the stronger the fire of lust burns.

Rea. 1 All these Lusts are so many Enemies to our Souls, 1 Pet. 3.11. they are the diseases of our Spirits, now if we satisfie any disease in our body, wee feed the disease and make it worse; So wee cannot satisfie any of these Lusts, but the more we feed them the stronger they grow: They are like the Dropsie, the more you drink the more you may, so satisfying encreases the disease, the more you obey a Tyrant and submit your selves to him, the more authority he claims over you, and the more will be Lord it over you: so if you once give up your selves to obey these lusts and let them reign, they will Lord it over you, and keep you in greater subjection,

Reas. 2 The heavy distempers that bodily lusts put upon the soul of man, they do aggravate the diseases that Christians most complain of, it is the common complaint of Christians, oh the deadness, and dullness, and hardness, and coldness of my heart and spirit! oh that I could but get a soft heart! why the lust of the flesh so overcharges our hearts, and makes them so heavy, that we have no desire to good, Luk. 21.34. take heed that your hearts [Greek or Hebrew], you shall find that whereas our spirits have been enlarged and comforted in Gods ordinances, and in his service; it is strange how little affection or comfort we find in these, if our hearts be overcharged with Intemperance, or Wantonness, or Voluptuousness, or Idleness, it is like lead at a Birds heels; what we feed on, we grow into the nature of it; let a man feed on earthly things, he grows earthly and unsavoury, so if a Christian gives way to any sensuality; he shall find his spirit grow so sensual and worldly, that it is made very unfit for spiritual things.

Reas. 2 The heavy distempers that bodily lusts put upon the soul of man, they do aggravate the diseases that Christians most complain of, it is the common complaint of Christians, oh the deadnesse, and dullnesse, and hardnesse, and coldnesse of my heart and spirit! oh that I could but get a soft heart! why the lust of the flesh so overcharges our hearts, and makes them so heavy, that we have no desire to good, Luk. 21.34. take heed that your hearts 〈non-Latin alphabet〉, you shall find that whereas our spirits have been enlarged and comforted in Gods ordinances, and in his service; it is strange how little affection or comfort we find in these, if our hearts be overcharged with Intemperancie, or Wantonnesse, or Voluptuousnesse, or Idlenesse, it is like lead at a Birds heels; what we feed on, we grow into the nature of it; let a man feed on earthly things, he grows earthly and unsavoury, so if a Christian gives way to any sensuality; he shall find his spirit grow so sensual and worldly, that it is made very unfit for spiritual things.

Reas. 3 From the end of these lusts, if we affect any pleasure of the World for it self, it is a lust of the flesh to cleave to the Creatures; now we shall find that none of these lusts commend us to God, neither meat nor drink, nor pastime, nor sleep, if we affect any thing for it self, it never commends us to God, or makes us draw near to him, though we had all these pleasures in the largest measure, as Paul saith of them, 1 Cor. 8.8. now if these draw us not to God, but many a poor soul that wants these, hath far more fellowship with God than such as enjoy abundance thereof, why then a Christian should thus reason, am not I a whit the nearer God for these? why then should my heart affect them?

4 Nay as they do not commend us to God, so 1 Cor. 6.13. Meat for the belly, and the belly for meat, they are all corruptible, both the cheer we affect, and our bellies, both corruptible; therefore let us set our minds on eternal incorruptible things.

4 Nay as they do not commend us to God, so 1 Cor. 6.13. Meat for the belly, and the belly for meat, they are all corruptible, both the chear we affect, and our bellies, both corruptible; therefore let us set our minds on eternal incorruptible things.

Use May dehort both old and young from affecting the lusts of the World, you see from the Father they are not, but from the World: and the means to help us against these lusts are,

Ʋse May dehort both old and young from affecting the lusts of the World, you see from the Father they are not, but from the World: and the means to help us against these lusts are,

1 Abstain from fleshly lusts as Peter speaks, Rom. 13.14. make no provision for the flesh, take heed of all occasions; I have made a Covenant with mine eyes (saith Job) not to look upon a Maid, Job 31.1. so for drink, Prov. 23.31. Prov. 4.15. it is a notable means of mortification, to withhold the blood and spirits from flowing into that member, thereby in a good measure they stupefy it. Secondly, Use some course to stupefy that part. Thirdly, Cut it off; would you mortify lust? Beware of all occasions, if such meats or drinks wilt make you Gluttons or Drunkards, meddle not with them, and so you shall hinder influence to these lusts: apply the death of Christ, the threatenings of God, and so when it begins to stupefy, cut it off; better it is to want all the sinful pleasures of this life, than having of them to be cast into Hell.

1 Abstain from fleshly lusts as Peter speaks, Rom. 13.14. make no provision for the flesh, take heed of all occasions; I have made a Covenant with mine eyes (saith Job) not to look upon a Maid, Job 31.1. so for drink, Prov. 23.31. Prov. 4.15. it is a notable means of mortification, to withhold the blood and spirits from flowing into that member, thereby in a good measure they stupifie it. Secondly, Use some course to stupifie that part. Thirdly, Cut it off; would you mortifie lust? Beware of all occasions, if such meats or drinks wilt make you Gluttons or Drunkards, meddle not with them, and so you shall hinder influence to these lusts: apply the death of Christ, the threatnings of God, and so when it begins to stupifie, cut it off; better it is to want all the sinful pleasures of this life, than having of them to be cast into Hell.

2 Refrain from bringing forth fruit of these lusts, the more fruitful a Tree grows; the more sap and strength it draws, and strikes deeper into thee earth; so let sin once grow fruitful, bring forth acts, it will get deeper hold, and grow so rooted that it will reign in you; if you avoid all occasions; and yield not ⟨p. 131⟩to satisfy the least of them, it will soon be gone; if a strange Dog comes in, if you feed him, he stands waiting for one piece after another, but if you beat him he is gone, where he may find better entertainment; so if lusts find, that they can have no entertainment, they cannot get one morsel, no yielding to them, but repulsing, they will be gone from you, where they may find better welcome.

2 Refrain from bringing forth fruit of these lusts, the more fruitful a Tree grows; the more sap and strength it draws, and strikes deeper into thee earth; so let sin once grow fruitful, bring forth acts, it will get deeper hold, and grow so rooted that it will reign in you; if you avoyd all occasions; and yeeld not ⟨p. 131⟩to satisfie the least of them, it will soon be gone; if a strange Dogg comes in, if you feed him, he stands waiting for one piece after another, but if you beat him he is gone, where he may finde better entertainment; so if lusts find, that they can have no entertainment, they cannot get one morsell, no yeilding to them, but repulsing, they will be gone from you, where they may finde better welcome.

3 When thou findest any lust of the flesh arising in thee, turn the strength of it to a Spiritual end; A man hath an affection to meat or drink, what saith Christ, I have meat and drink that ye know not of; though he were very faint and hungry, yet when he saw a company come, he attended not to his meat and drink, but there was Spiritual food, and that comforted and refreshed him; so, art thou troubled with lust after Women? and God calls thee not to Marriage, why turn the strength of thy affection to another, that is white and ruddy, the fairest of ten thousand. The more you set your heart to consider, how amiable, and beautiful, and excellent he is, you shall find he will so satisfy your heart, that you will find little content in any other thing besides: As the Sun, if it shine hot on a fire it puts it out, so the love of Christ, if it once shine in your hearts, and fill your souls with light; and joy unspeakable and glorious, you shall find all base Kitchen lusts were they never so vehement, the Sun of Righteousness will soon eat them out; so for love of idleness and rest, let but a Soul consider what comforts he ever found in the favour of God when his left hand was under him, and when God held him up in his everlasting Arms, do but consider how sweet was one hour of that inward peace you found then above all outward comforts, you shall easily see, that though your body should never find rest more, yet this inward peace will so satisfy you, that you will be ready to say with Paul, I have enough, I have learned in all these to be [Greek or Hebrew] self-sufficient, that I need not more, Phil. 4.11, 12.

3 When thou findest any lust of the flesh arising in thee, turn the strength of it to a Spiritual end; A man hath an affection to meat or drink, what saith Christ, I have meat and drink that ye know not of; though he were very faint and hungry, yet when he saw a company come, he attended not to his meat and drink, but there was Spiritual food, and that comforted and refreshed him; so, art thou troubled with lust after Women? and God calls thee not to Marriage, why turn the strength of thy affection to another, that is white and ruddy, the fairest of ten thousand. The more you set your heart to consider, how amiable, and beautiful, and excellent he is, you shall finde he will so satisfie your heart, that you will finde little content in any other thing besides: As the Sun, if it shine hot on a fire it puts it out, so the love of Christ, if it once shine in your hearts, and fill your souls with light; and joy unspeakable and glorious, you shall finde all base Kitching lusts were they never so vehement, the Sun of Righteousnesse will soon eat them out; so for love of idlenesse and rest, let but a Soul consider what comforts he ever found in the favour of God when his left hand was under him, and when God held him up in his everlasting Arms, do but consider how sweet was one hour of that inward peace you found then above all outward comforts, you shall easily see, that though your body should never finde rest more, yet this inward peace will so satisfie you, that you will be ready to say with Paul, I have enough, I have learned in all these to be self-sufficient, that I need not more,

4 Walk faithfully and constantly in your general and particular Callings; the reason why a Christian grows carnal and sensual is, because either in Gods Ordinances, or his particular Calling he was not spiritually minded, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh, Gal. 5.16. be spiritual and heavenly, in Prayer, in hearing the Word, in your Calling, and you shall find your lusts decay; otherwise, he that rusheth into occasions of sin needlessly, he tempts the Devil to tempt him, so that whereas the Devil might otherwise be much weakened, and not so able to overcome, if we invite occasions, and rush into such places where Satan reigns, we thrust Weapons into Satan's hand, and a man never ordinarily leads himself into temptation but he falls; let Peter go into the High Priests Hall, he shamefully denies his Master before he come out, therefore take heed of running into occasions of sin.

4 Walk faithfully and constantly in your general and particular Callings; the reason why a Christian grows carnal and sensual is, because either in Gods Ordinances, or his particular Calling hee was not spiritually minded, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh, Gal. 5.16. be spiritual and heavenly, in Prayer, in hearing the Word, in your Calling, and you shall finde your lusts decay; otherwise, he that rusheth into occasions of sin needlesly, he tempts the Devil to tempt him, so that whereas the Devil might otherwise be much weakened, and not so able to overcome, if we invite occasions, and rush into such places where Satan reigns, we thrust Weapons into Satans hand, and a man never ordinarily leads himself into temptation but he falls; let Peter go into the High Priests Hall, he shamefully denies his Master before he come out, therefore take heed of running into occasions of sin.